Sydney's downtown business district on the upswing

Major developments in downtown Sydney, N.S., that are either underway or in the planning stages are boosting confidence in the local business sector.

Cruise ship expansion, plans to move NSCC downtown sparking new confidence along Charlotte Street

Tom Ayers CBC News Posted: Jul 03, 2019 10:50 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 3, 2019

Tori Horvath, owner of Boysenberry Boutique and Cafe, recently opened her new business in downtown Sydney, N.S., and sold out most of her clothing inventory in the first week. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

Major developments in downtown Sydney, N.S., that are either underway or in the planning stages are boosting confidence in the localbusiness sector.

A second cruise ship berth is under construction and the province is planning to move the Nova Scotia Community College campus downtown.

Business owners say those projects are attracting companies and customers.

'A different conversation'

Charlotte Street, Sydney's main commercial artery, has seen an increasing number of vacant storefronts in recent years.

Michelle Wilson, executive director of the Sydney Downtown Development Association, said althougha handful of businesses have closed, far more have opened.

"There's a different conversation happening about downtown Sydney and it's really exciting," saidWilson.

Tori Horvath was planning to move out of the province after graduating from Cape Breton University.

Instead, she recently opened the Boysenberry Boutique and Cafe on Charlotte Street.

Horvath runs a cafe on the main floor and a women's clothing store on the second level.

The Sydney Downtown Development Association has placed wooden chairs and hanging flower baskets along Charlotte Street, which business owners say makes the commercial district more attractive for shoppers. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

"Seeing all the new things that are happening, such as like the NSCC relocating and all these big developments, it kind of made me feel like I didn't want to be anywhere else," she said.

"I wanted to be on the ground level."

Horvath said there was more customer traffic downtown than she expected, and in just the first week, she sold out most of her women's clothing.

Peggy MacAdam, owner of the Cape Breton Curiosity Shop, caters mostly to tourists in the summer and to locals looking for gifts from home in the winter.

She said a renewed focus on downtown development is starting to pay off, and if NSCC moves in, things will only get better.

"All those things will meld together to create one big positive experience for people," MacAdam said.

Business dynamic changing: councillor

MacAdam has seen ups and downs in Sydney's downtown over the years, and business seems to be on the upswing.

In addition to cruise ship expansion and plans to move NSCC downtown, Coun. Eldon MacDonald says a pilot project to regenerate business in the core is just wrapping up and the municipality is in the planning stages of redeveloping Charlotte Street. (Twitter)

"People (used to) come into this store and say, 'Oh wow, I haven't been downtown since Crowell's closed.' Well, that's about 20 years ago," MacAdam said.

"And then the second sentence would be, 'But there's no reason to come downtown.' I haven't heard that. Not in the last couple of years."

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Coun.Eldon MacDonald, who represents the downtown district, said the business dynamic is changing.

In addition to the cruise ship expansion and plans to move NSCC downtown, MacDonald said a two-year pilot project to regenerate business in the core is just wrapping up and CBRM is in the planning stages of redeveloping Charlotte Street.

"People have a level of confidence in the downtown," he said.

"Just over the past year, 2018, I think there was eight buildings that sold in the downtown district."