‘Uptown London’: Merchants’ group seek political OK for big expansion

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A Hyde Park business association is seeking to more than double its size, a proposal that could add additional property tax to about 300 businesses in northwest London.

The Hyde Park Business Improvement Association (BIA) is asking city council for permission to explore an expansion into territory beyond the traditional Hyde Park neighbourhood, extending north to the city limits and east to Wonderland Road. 

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The proposed Hyde Park BIA boundaries, which will be presented to council’s planning committee on Tuesday, would cover much of northwest London, including the Wonderland Road-Oxford Street intersection, Sherwood Forest area and up to Sunningdale Road.  

“It’s a large geographical area that they’re looking at,” Ward 8 Coun. Steve Lehman, chair of council’s planning committee.  “I’m leaning towards, if a BIA wants to present this to other areas, and the merchants fully understand the costs, why not have those discussions?”

If green-lit by politicians, city staff will complete a report on the proposal and put forth a recommendation on the boundary shift for city council to consider.  

The expansion proposed by the Hyde Park BIA will add about 300 new businesses to the district, bringing its total to about 700.  

The organization is planning to change its name to the Uptown London BIA if the boundary change is ultimately approved by council. 

In its letter to politicians, the Hyde Park BIA said businesses in the Sherwood Forest and Fanshawe Park Road and Wonderland Road areas “already think of themselves as (group) members,” with the association fielding frequent inquiries about membership. 

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This summer, representatives from the Hyde Park BIA contacted about half the businesses that would be captured by the proposed expansion and said the majority were open to the possibility of a BIA in their area, the letter said.  

BIAs are groups that focus on economic development in a specific neighbourhood or area. The groups work to support merchants, including small businesses, and champion beautification efforts in their districts. 

When a BIA is approved by city council, businesses within its boundaries become members of the group and pay a mandatory levy with their property taxes.  

The exact levy paid by businesses in the proposed Uptown London BIA would be outlined in the report by city staff, Lehman said.  

Lehman said the Hyde Park BIA is “well-run” and is concerned that such a dramatic expansion could lessen its impact.  

“I’m a little concerned about diluting that successful brand,” said Lehman, whose ward would be caught up in the proposed boundaries. “Once you bring in different areas, they have different interests.” 

The proposed boundaries would bring several big box districts into the Hyde Park BIA fold, Lehman said. Squabbles and differences in priorities between areas within a BIA are not uncommon, he said.  

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“If I’m a business up at Wonderland and Fanshawe Park Road, do I have the same interests as merchants at Gainsborough and Hyde Park Road?” he said, adding he’s curious what the staff report would ultimately recommend.  

“It’s going to be an interesting conversation.”  

Officials with the Hyde Park BIA were not immediately available for comment this weekend. 

The Hyde Park BIA is one of five in the city. Three – the Argyle, Hamilton Road and Old East Village BIAs – are in London’s east end, with the fourth, Downtown London, covering the core. The levy paid by a typical storefront business within the Downtown London BIA, for example, is approximately $1,000 a year.

The Hyde Park Business Improvement Association launched in 1979 and was officially designated a Business Improvement Area by London city hall in 2017.  

jbieman@postmedia.com 

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