Dave the Market Guy
6 posts
Jan 05, 2010
11:04 PM
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Awesome new article on our efforts and successes in the East Village from the Londoner Jan 5 2010. Here is the direct link:
http://www.thelondoner.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2247331
Community credited for Old East comeback
Posted By Sean Meyer
Posted 12 hours ago
SEAN MEYER PHOTODavid Cook, owner of the Fire Roasted Coffee Company and market manager of London s Farmer s Market, and Sarah Merritt, manager of the Old East Village Business Improvement Area, agree that the residents of the community have proven to be essential to the revitalization that is currently underway.
David Cook knows first hand how successful the revitalization efforts in the Old East Village are.
Mr. Cook, owner of the Fire Roasted Coffee Company and market manager of London's Farmer's Market, started a small business in the area, which eventually grew to the point he could quit his job in Toronto and focus on building his company. That opportunity led him to purchase the market and use it as a springboard for helping other businesses and the community in general.
"I came across one of the greatest opportunities that is in London and that's the East Village. I wouldn't have known that coming in, I didn't have that direction," Mr. Cook says. "I was trying to get a market together, but what I immediately found was that one of the sometimes more maligned communities in the city is actually one of the strongest communities out there. You really have to immerse yourself to realise that."
That is exactly the kind of talk Sarah Merritt likes to hear.
Ms. Merritt, manager of the Old East Village Business Improvement Area (BIA), says the revitalization that is going on in the neighbourhood has become a success because of the collective will of the entire community.
"One of the reasons this revitalization initiative is working is that East London is a very strong community, always has been. But what we have been doing with this initiative is using community development methodology to affect social economic revitalization," Ms. Merritt says. "What that means is that everything we do has to be about strengthening the community first of all, and building the community's capacity to take control of its own future. So when we work with any stakeholder or partner we are very selective about whom we get involved with. It really wouldn't matter how much money you had. If you don't understand those two pieces, you wouldn't be able to affect the regeneration that is happening in this neighbourhood the way the community has asked for it."
Whether looking at the market, the Western Fair itself, the new police station expansion, the work going on at the Aeolian Hall and the Palace Theatre or the arrival the many other small business that have sprung up in recent years, Ms. Merritt says they all share a common commitment to helping not only themselves, but the community as well.
"Anybody who is successful in this neighbourhood understands that this is about community. Most people think building community in a community is about all getting along and being nice with each other. But in actual fact it is getting to a point of safety and trust with people that we can challenge each other's thinking, ask the tough and the right questions to gain new knowledge about old issues and then move on. That's when you get to authentic community," Ms. Merritt says. "There are so many divergent groups that generally in these kinds of initiatives can be seen as working against each other. But the reality is in East London we are all we have got. With the exception of drug dealers and pimps we make, to the best of our ability, this process creates room in the circle for everybody."
It certainly appears that circle is growing much larger.
"In 2003 there was less than $1 million investment in this corridor. Based on the work that we are doing and is coming, and factoring in building sales, it is over $200 million worth of development. You are factoring in City of London incentive programs, buildings that have changed ownership, new developments coming in, smaller developments," Ms. Merritt says. "We have gone from less than $1 million in 2003 to this by 2012 and we have done it on a very small budget. The BIA budget is under $125,000 a year; I have to fundraise for everything else. But you can throw as much money at a problem as you like, it you don't have the creativity and the people working the issues and the ability to find local solutions – plus a mentoring group of professionals – then it won't be solved. There are a whole series of factors that have played into what we have done here."
If all the development that is happening in the corridor comes to fruition – and Ms. Merritt says there is no reason to believe it won't – she says by 2012 there will be as many as 19 brand new commercial spaces in the Old East Village.
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Those opportunities are going to be filled, Ms. Merritt says, through the work of a wide variety of people.
"It's great to have experts and consultants, and you need at critical points in what you are doing, but I am willing to bet if you tap into on your own community expertises you will find all the skills you need right in this neighbourhood. And I need to find it here," Ms. Merritt says. "One of the reasons this revitalization initiative is working is that East London is a very strong community, always has been. But what we have been doing with this initiative is using community development methodology to affect social economic revitalization. What that means is that everything we do has to be about strengthening the community first of all, and building the community's capacity to take control of its own future."
Mr. Cook says he has seen that change in the community's confidence in the past few years.
"It's unbelievable the support of the community. I can really feel it. We are starting to really draw from a far wider net than ever. But when times were lean in very challenging times it is this community that kept us going. Am I worried about the future? No. Well maybe just a tiny bit. But there are so many good and positive things happening. The momentum seems really unstoppable," Mr. Cook says. "I think we are still finding the relationships. The Aeolian draws in a certain customer. The market draws a certain customer. But I think there are a lot of opportunities for us as a group to really work together."
And while the community has become involved and worked together to achieve the revitalization that is underway, Ms. Merritt is quick to say that even the best intentions don't always run smoothly.
"Because our partners are the community association and the City of London, part of our job is to create bridges between the city bureaucracies and departments and this community. That doesn't mean it is always nice, nice because in this kind of work there are always differences of opinion. You are always struggling to access resources, to get your piece of the pie," Ms. Merritt says. "What we try to do is that when people come into this neighbourhood, to deal with this community, we want people to know it doesn't mean that when we get together there won't be difficult conversations, because there will be. But the critical piece is acknowledging that the key to releasing an individual's or a system's capacities is developing strong human relationships. That is what has done it for us."
That success is something Ms. Merritt says comes by providing assistance to those who need it, but not pushing anyone to the side and doing the work for them.
"What we want to do is create an opportunity for everyone to live their dream and support people who are doing that. The challenge with that is that to move this work forward you have to learn to identify the people that are at the point where they can implement what they want to do. Our job as a BIA is not to tell people how do their work, but to put in place the pieces they need – and it isn't money – to help them move forward and then get out of the way," Ms. Merritt says. "I deal with a lot of people in my job. I can spot the people who no matter how much money they have aren't going to succeed because they don't understand that if you take care of the greater need of the community they are going to do better. So when looking at property owners who have allowed their buildings to get into such a state of disrepair that they can no longer afford to do anything with them, in some, but not all cases, the people who are blaming everybody are the people most disconnected from the community."
When it comes to her partnerships outside the Old East Village community itself, Ms. Merritt has nothing but praise for the work being done by the City of London. However, she also adds that government assistance doesn't mean automatic solutions.
"We have a great partnership with the city. I think sometimes people think the municipality's job is to find a solution. I don't think that is their job. I think at times that might be part of their job. But we developed a plan and said to the city here are the pieces we would like to do and this is what we are going to do," Ms. Merritt says. "We have identified what is already working for us and have tried to build on it. That doesn't mean we can't put our attention to the drug dealing and all the stuff that have pulled this community down – we are all over that and will continue to be – but that is only one small piece. If you put all your focus on what isn't working people become extremely pessimistic. If you focus on what is working and analyse why it is working, then that opens up all kinds of opportunities."
Just what people are finding in the east end is something Ms. Merritt says will surprise many, but she adds it only comes through a lot of hard work by a lot of people.
"In some ways this is like London's best-kept secret, although that has changed really rapidly. They find the counter-culture, the alternative culture, whatever. We don't have marketing money. So you make some decisions, are you going to spend time putting icing on a cake you haven't baked yet or are you going to bake the cake?" Ms. Merritt says. "A lot of what we do is word of mouth and networking because that is how community works. There are people doing lots and lots of advertising, yes, and that brings people in. But under that surface is a whole group of people who found their way into the east because they were looking for something different, a different shopping experience, whatever. I am not saying you can't find community in other parts of London because of course you can. But we've had people who have basically come here in search of community. That doesn't mean just knowing your neighbour, although that is important, it is about living and working in community with each other. And that isn't an easy thing to do."
With all the success Old East revitalization has seen, Ms. Merritt could be excused for being overly optimistic about the future. And while she is optimistic she is also quick to add that feeling doesn't allow her to take things for granted.
"If you worry about the future, and none of us know what the future holds, then all you are doing is drawing on negativity. That doesn't mean you don't plan for other eventualities, I always have five backup plans. The way you alleviate negativity worry is to get your sleeves rolled up and get into it. Worry incapacitates you, but that doesn't mean you don't plan for every eventuality," Ms. Merritt says. "There is no tomorrow. When you get to tomorrow it is today. And based on our experience today is that we are going to have more today. And even if today one of our key lynch pins of what we are doing becomes challenged it won't stop what we are doing. What we are doing here isn't separate from who we are. It's our lives. I don't go to work in the morning, I mean I do, but I live in this neighbourhood, this is my life. So you can't stop. I am living my life and I think that is where you get the sustainability and the tenacity in the face of challenges.
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