City councillor hopes to expand Danforth pop ups that are changing neighbourhood

A steady stream of young mothers and toddlers stroll in and out of Merrily Merrily on a regular basis. The store – a kids and baby boutique – was initially a 30-day experiment for co-owner Jane McIver, who now greets many customers by first name.

“We really wanted to test the waters and see how receptive the community was to a brick-and-mortar store,” she said.

Since 2015, when they first arrived on the east end of Danforth Avenue, they’ve grown their customer base and are now a permanent fixture in the community. They credit the pop up concept for helping them take their “first steps.”

“We feel lucky to be here.”

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Ward 31 Beaches-East York Councillor Janet Davis is hoping to incubate more successful businesses like Merrily Merrily through policy changes that will make it easier for vacant buildings to find commercial tenants.

The stretch of Danforth Avenue near Coxwell Avenue has been plagued by high commercial vacancy in the past – at one point as high as 17 per cent.

“There have been economic downturns and a changing demographic for a long time,” said Davis.

She says one of the reasons is because landlords benefit from a 30 per cent tax rebate if their buildings are vacant for three months.

“It kind of acts as a disincentive to find and keep their buildings active and occupied,” said Davis.

“We would like to use that tax break or those resources and turn it around to use it as an incentive for property owners to participate in programs like pop up shops.”

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Davis is asking the city to explore policy options that could perhaps tier or time limit tax breaks so that landlords would be more motivated to fill their buildings with commercial tenants.

The Danforth East Community Association began the pop up project in this area back in 2012.

“Since then we’ve hosted 32 pop up shops. Six businesses have become permanent and 15 stores have been leased as a result of the project,” said Gay Stephenson, of WoodGreen Community Services, which helps run the project.

Commercial vacancy in the area has dropped from 17 per cent to six.

“It’s been a win win,” said Stephenson. “It’s had an incredible impact.”

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The Danforth has also seen its share of violent crime. Recently the city shut down Cloud Nine Cafe, an east-end establishment where three people were killed; most recently during a drive-by shooting in April.

READ MORE: Calls for east-end Toronto cafe’s closure after man killed in drive-by shooting

The violence has scared away customers and businesses, but supporters of the program say bright, attractive pop up stores have helped lure some back.

“Our community feels like a more fun, vibrant place where people will want to come out.”

LEN: Democratic Purveyors of Fine Art & Beautiful Things is another pop up success story.

“We were able to try our products out and get to know the community,” said owner Christal Pshyk.

She notes that had it not been for the pop up opportunity, she’s unsure if she would have started a business in the area.

“Having low risk to do that is great,” she said. “And in a short period of time you’re not investing in a huge amount of money.”

But now, like Merrily Merrily, Pshyk’s business has found a permanent home in the area.