Spryfield and District Business Commission History
Introduction and Background
Since the 1950's, there have been several attempts to unite the businesses of the Spryfield community. Many local Business Associations, including the "Business Men's Improvement Association of Spryfield," "Spryfield Business and Professionals Association," "Spryfield Businessmen's Association," "Spryfield Chamber of Commerce," and "Spryfield Board of Trade" are a few that were developed.
Acting as volunteer organizations, the groups lost steam and dissolved. But the most recent attempt (2003) to revitalize a business group gained solid funding through a "service agreement" with Halifax Regional Municipality which created a "Business Improvement District" for Spryfield, leaving the newly named "Spryfield and District Business Commission" with funding and, most importantly, staff to manage the organization's affairs and activities.
Getting Started
The initial aims of the previous "Business Associations" in the community was to protect the area and correct false statements about Spryfield, to network with businesses, to address issues of the day that were affecting businesses, and to serve for the betterment of the community with the hopes that they would bring more business to the Spryfield area. These aims remain the same for the newly formed "Spryfield and District Business Commission." The clear mission statement, created in 2002, is "to advocate the interests of business in building a stronger business community."
Now self-funded through its "Service Agreement" with the Municipality, the association renamed itself the "Spryfield and District Business Commission" in 2003. The Commission measures its success by the partnerships and relationships established in the community. The Commission has established a good reputation in the community, and has become recognized by local residents, and the Municipality, as an organization "that can get things done" in the community.
By fostering its relationships with Municipal and Provincial political representatives and staff at Halifax Regional Municipality, the Commission has been able to create an attitude of government support for positive community change. It is this "new attitude" by government that will bridge the gap between deficiencies in the community and solutions to betterment.
Some of the organization's achievements and activities include the following:
- The Commission helped encourage the Municipality to designate Spryfield as a "District Centre" within the Halifax Regional Municipal 25-Year Development Plan, a move which gives the community a higher profile at HRM.
- The Commission provided encouragement for and input to the 2005 "Herring Cove Streetscape and Planning Study", a document which will help guide the Municipality toward positive change in the community.
- The Commission encouraged and subsequently worked with leaders at the Greater Halifax Partnership, HRM's Economic Development arm, to create a "Business Case for Spryfield", the draft of which is part of this web-site.
- In 2006 the Commission produced the first ever "Spryfield and District Business Directory", gathering more than 230 businesses in a single document distributed to more than 12,000 residents as a project to encourage citizens to "Come Home To Shop".
- The Commission worked with HRM in 2006 to undertake an "Anti-Graffiti Program", educating businesses about the damages caused by graffiti, undertaking a community-wide clean-up of graffiti, and offering tips to business on how to remove graffiti: The Commission has also created a "Casino Night Anti-Graffiti Fundraiser" to raise funds for an ongoing anti-graffiti program.
- The Commission has over four years undertaken the responsibility for cleaning a vacant piece of unused centrally located property as a "Community Improvement and Anti-Litter Project".
Now with 2008 underway, a renewed political and government bureaucracy interest in the community is emerging, and with the Commission's attention turned toward a push for "Community Economic Development", the aim of which is to create Spryfield as the "Central Business District" for all of the nearly 30,000 residents of the Eastern Chebucto Peninsula and "The Sambro Loop," the Commission continues to encourage HRM to explore the benefits of the community as a valuable economic growth area for the city.
In 2008, the Municipality has directed planning staff to proceed with a "Community Visioning For Spryfield", a public consultation program aimed at aligning furture developments in the community with the City's Regional Development Plan. The Commission and its Municipal Councillors are also considering a review of the "Zoning and Land Use By-Laws" along Herring Cove Road in an effort to open up opportunities for future economic development in the community.
