What We've Learned About Downtown Simcoe & Norfolk County
Every downtown feels open or closed. This may be an abstract statement, but listen to the people who frequent the area or live nearby – the way that individuals talk about a downtown space will tell you right away whether the area is considered open or closed. In this context, we use ‘open’ to mean welcoming, inviting, surprising, attractive and distinctive; by contrast, the word ‘closed’ is short-hand for detached, cold, boring, run-down and unexceptional.
Standard objection: what does the data suggest? True, there are lots of potential measures including storefront occupancy rates, how many people live downtown, the number of cultural events per month, transit numbers, homeless counts, pedestrian traffic, and so on. All these factors are significant and should be considered, but the interesting thing is that, if you ask residents or visitors about a downtown, most people will respond by explaining how the area makes them feel. The responses are visceral, based on impressions, experiences, gut reactions, and word-of-mouth. All this feedback is extremely important, too, and if we ignore this sort of information, we lack empathy, which is the key to making things better. Why do people avoid a downtown area, rather than feeling drawn to explore the streets, shops and venues?
If beauty is the promise of happiness, most reasonable people will avoid areas that lack appeal because the potential for joy or even contentment seems low. Consider who occupies a declining downtown – typically, individuals who have little choice but to be there. Ideally, we want urban cores to feel warm, a bit mysterious, and supportive of people who have different income levels and needs, both residents and visitors. Business owners need to believe that there is the opportunity for profit. There should be a network of services for those who need help to access the appropriate care. Tourists want to be intrigued and believe that there is something unique to discover. Teenagers need to imagine that there will be something new happening all the time.
Absorb these observations and the realization starts to sink in that the goal of transforming a downtown involves a kind of art. Money is only part of the equation – spend all you want on a new park or streetscape or building renovation, but there is no guarantee of success. The main variables are the people involved. Who lives in the community? Who is using the downtown now, and who could be drawn to the area? Who believes in the future of the place, rather than holding onto some vague sense of the past? Listen closely, spend strategically, and be willing to adjust.
This brings us to downtown Simcoe, Ontario. Our team at young & free press has been working in collaboration with the Downtown Simcoe BIA (Business Improvement Area) with the aim of promoting local businesses and cultural institutions, as well as developing a series of projects that might encourage residents and visitors to interact with the space in new ways. We take an unconventional approach, blending the practice of psychogeography with the core elements of design thinking. Quick definitions: psychogeography is a version of urban drifting, wandering neighbourhoods to understand the inner workings and enigmas of a place; design thinking is a method of solving problems creatively by empathizing with the individuals or groups contending with specific glitches or obstacles. Put together, one could say that we absorb the psychology of a place by interacting purposefully with the architecture, culture, and users, while at the same time listening deeply and figuring out why there are barriers to cultural and economic growth. This is led by our owner and editor, Andrew Gunn, along with our team of teenage journalists and consultants, including Maddie King, Hayden Miller-Cluckie, Emily Stage and Alex Popen.
We started in Simcoe by exploring downtown, walking and driving, and checking out how people utilize the area. Dipping in and out of shops, cafés and restaurants, we began picking up local notes of art, culture and business, looking at the buildings and examining the contrast of heritage architecture, new construction and environmental features, and studying whether people seemed excited or withdrawn or quiet or boisterous or bored. Our first take: the downtown felt closed. Lots of empty storefronts, minimal pedestrian traffic, poor lighting, a lack of garbage and recycling containers, little joyfulness or music in the streets, very few places to sit, minimal digital features, a noticeable absence of youth, hardly any challenging or thought-provoking artwork, a shortage of green space, and car culture embedded throughout, privileging vehicles over pedestrians.
Now, how does everyone feel about that description? If you live in Simcoe or feel a certain attachment to the community, perhaps you are nodding in agreement, or maybe you feel slightly offended – both positions are totally legitimate, and either way, we can work with those reactions! The reality, of course, is that there are lots of bright spots, too, including some cool destination retail and art joints like Sloths & Molasses and Pieceful Arts that are adding new dimensions to the downtown. There are lovely restaurants and cafés, like Ferrera, Serafina, and Joy Bakery Café. Still, we felt closed off from the downtown culture initially, particularly in the public spaces, and we needed to dig in and discover the natural entry points.
With this kind of dynamic, we have to remember that human beings are indeed the main variables, and the way that we engage individuals and user groups will determine whether the downtown improves or declines. Storefronts and building façades and park spaces matter, for sure, but first and foremost, we should focus on the actual people involved. This is how we find genuine momentum.
Before the holidays in December, we asked a group of Norfolk County business owners, artists, politicians, and entrepreneurs to join us for a quick gathering at Groundswell Coworking at the corner of Norfolk Street South and Peel Street. This was an interesting occasion because we did not really explain the purpose, except that we would be recognizing some early supporters of our urban renewal plans and taking a photo. Everyone seemed happy to attend.
How did we decide who to invite? There was no formula really, but perhaps two basic criteria. First, we recognize that Norfolk County is a rural area with a few small urban centres, and we thought that we should include agricultural producers as well as people from different places across the local landscape. Second, we wanted to acknowledge individuals who understand the significance of building community and have found innovative ways to bring people together; after all, this is the heart of urban renewal — give everyone reasons to come out and explore!
The gathering at Groundswell Coworking on Monday, December 16th, 2019. Left to right: Jess Bommarito, Amy Martin, Susan Judd, Ian Rabbitts, Ryan Taylor, Tommy De Vos, Hayden Miller-Cluckie, Hannah Dolson, Claire Senko, Lexi Senko, Brett Schuyler, Dusty Zamecnik, Mike Bakos, Krista Zilkey, Andrew Gunn, and Hayden Dooney.
We were lucky that Norfolk County Deputy Mayor Amy Martin could join us, along with Councillors Ian Rabbitts and Ryan Taylor. All three are first-term members of Norfolk County Council, voted into office in the fall 2018 election. Amy has taken on her role in impressive fashion, strategically advancing new initiatives while also building partnerships and utilizing social media to connect with residents -- few municipal politicians handle social media so effectively, and we admire the approach that Amy has taken. Ian and Ryan both represent the interests of Simcoe on Council, and took the leap to seek public office out of a desire to improve all aspects of the community. Tough decisions come quick in political life, and both have responded well to the challenges. We know that Ian and Ryan want to see downtown Simcoe improve, too.
When we were considering a location for this gathering, quickly we realized that the ideal spot would be Groundswell Coworking. The business was founded by Jess Bommarito, who identified that there seemed to be a lot of solo entrepreneurs in the area who needed a place to work together, make connections, and forge a sense of community. We have checked in with Jess regularly as she took over the space at 56 Norfolk Street South, and appreciate how she has built the business and brand with a genuine sense of purpose. How can one resist the metaphor of a groundswell, specifically the growth of a strong feeling among a large group of people? Jess noticed the need for a shared space to support local entrepreneurs, and built a business to make this happen. We wanted to expand that idea by demonstrating that there are lots of people in the community who would like the downtown to be more vibrant and welcoming. This made Groundswell the ideal location to bring everyone together for this occasion. We asked Hannah Dolson, the Community Manager at Groundswell, to jump into the photo that we took – along with her role with the business, Hannah is a talented singer and performing artist.
Just up the road from Simcoe is the lovely town of Waterford, which is definitely worth a visit to walk the local Heritage Trail, wander across the landmark Black Bridge, and especially to check out concerts and plays at the Old Town Hall in the heart of the community. Claire Senko is the Artistic Producer at the Hall and plays her role brilliantly, drawing big-name artists like The Sheepdogs, Joel Plaskett and Sarah Slean to perform at the venue while adding plays, author talks, community meetings, programming for kids, and special events to the mix. (Side note: Basia Bulat will be playing a show at the Hall on Saturday, May 2nd, one part of a brand new concert series!) Music fans may recall outdoor concerts by Sarah Harmer and Ron Sexsmith at Whistling Gardens in the past, which Claire coordinated to perfection with help from friends and volunteers. Supporting the arts is crucial in rural communities, and we want to make sure that we reach out to artists and producers around Norfolk County to help guide and inform how we might enhance the arts scene in downtown Simcoe. With this in mind, we asked Claire to join us at Groundswell, and she brought along her daughter, Lexi, who assists from time to time with social media and events at the Old Town Hall. This felt kind of perfect because if young people like Lexi are going to consider living and working in small towns and rural areas at some point in the future than we better pay attention to what members of the next generation want to see happening culturally in our downtown spaces!
If you drive southwest from Simcoe, eventually you might hit the Turkey Point & St. Williams area, which is a beautiful part of Norfolk County and distinguished by the presence of some great tourist spots, including Burning Kiln Winery and Long Point Eco-Adventures. Tommy De Vos is the new General Manager at Eco-Adventures, as well as the President of Hometown Brew Co., which is now brewing and serving beers on-site and hosting the ‘Hometown Beer Hall & Market’ on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Tourism is becoming one of the key industries in Norfolk County with the development of more breweries, wineries and unique destinations. We asked Tommy to join us as one of the young entrepreneurs helping to make this happen.
All of the great food and drink locations popping up around Norfolk County obviously generated the need for a tour company, and fortunately Susan Judd stepped up to launch Ride the Bine! The business features a fleet of Mercedes Benz Sprinters, and guests settle in for fun excursions to breweries and wineries in the area. We wanted to emphasize great entrepreneurs who have a knack for bringing people together, and Susan definitely fits this description! She grew up in Simcoe, and the community remains close to her heart. Imagine the impact on the tourism sector if the downtown areas in the County could be brought more into line with the overall beauty of the countryside … this is the opportunity that we see for downtown Simcoe.
The main campus of Fanshawe College may be in London, but the Simcoe / Norfolk Regional Campus located on the east side of Simcoe is a fascinating example of how post-secondary education can help to reinvent a small rural community. With the development of the tourism industry locally, Fanshawe introduced the ‘Adventure Expeditions and Interpretive Leadership’ diploma program to train students to become naturalists, tour guides, wildlife photographers, and business owners; additionally, the ‘Agri-Business Management’ graduate certificate program was established to give an opportunity for those interested in agriculture to learn about food safety and traceability, precision technologies, social media marketing and more. Interestingly, the campus has been attracting a growing number of international students from India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and other points around the globe. This presents an awesome opportunity for Norfolk County to add talent and build an inclusive environment for post-secondary students. We invited Krista Zilkey, the Manager of Continuing Education and Training Services at Fanshawe in Simcoe, to come out and meet with everyone at Groundswell. Large public institutions like universities and colleges can often feel cold and impersonal, but Krista is one of the people at Fanshawe who makes the place feel warm and inviting for students, staff and visitors.
Mike Bakos was one of the first students who took the Agri-Business Management program at Fanshawe in Simcoe. After attending university to become a teacher, Mike decided to return to work on his family farm near Delhi, a small town located just west of Simcoe. He added some skills through the Fanshawe program, and just as significantly, started to get more involved in the community, serving on the Norfolk County Agriculture Advisory Board. Check this out: Mike works in collaboration with other farmers in the area under the name ‘The Growers’, and this business is the largest in-season producer of locally grown and freshly packed watermelon in Ontario. This translates to roughly 600 acres of watermelon, and if you visit Mike during the harvest, there are about 20,000 watermelons being picked and packed every day for six weeks! Norfolk County is one of the most diverse agricultural production areas in the country, and there is a real need for young farmers to continue in the industry. We know, though, that many people in the business want to balance life on the farm with social and cultural opportunities. This means that lively and attractive downtowns are crucial to the long-term vitality of rural areas.
Several artists have installed new murals recently in downtown Simcoe. Andrew and Maddie have paid close attention to the content of each work – this piece called ‘We Will Overcome It’ by Ojibwe Woodland artist Josh Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley is especially striking. We love checking out street art! Follow along with our series called ‘Plates & Paints’ on our Instagram page presented by our friends at Southwest Ontario Tourism.
Now, this brings us to the main reason why we gathered everyone together at Groundswell … through our partnership with the Downtown Simcoe BIA, we have been connecting with business owners and private foundations and estates to build financial support for some key urban renewal projects. Our focus has been on assembling funds to put toward new murals, lighting, and event spaces. Wandering around the downtown in the evenings, we noticed a lack of places for small gatherings and events on the street, and then we remembered the pop-up patios that we had noticed recently in Toronto and Hamilton. These installations are not connected necessarily to restaurants, bars and cafés – instead, we have seen the patios occasionally deployed as community spaces, and this really changes the vibe on the street. For Simcoe, we thought that this could be a great fit in multiple ways. First of all, throughout the spring, summer and fall, thousands of farm workers come into Norfolk County from Mexico, Jamaica, Trinidad and other countries; on Thursday and Friday nights throughout the growing season, the workers venture into downtown Simcoe to check out the shops, go to the restaurants and bars, and handle everyday tasks like getting groceries or visiting financial institutions. This seems like an incredible opportunity – predictable foot traffic in small town Ontario! What if we put games tables on the patios, coordinated card tournaments, and added more music and art?
We approached some local leaders in the agricultural community with the idea of sponsoring a few patio spaces in downtown Simcoe. Brett Schuyler of Schuyler Farms, Hayden Dooney from the Norfolk Fruit Growers’ Association, and Dusty Zamecnik of EZ Grow Farms recognized the potential, and agreed to support the project if we could make the necessary arrangements. At the same time, we reached out to the team at Pop-Up Patios in Hamilton, who build many of the lovely outdoor patios that are placed on the streets in Hamilton, Toronto, and in a growing number of smaller communities, too. The cool twist is that the patios are installed and removed each year, and the company stores and maintains the units. This approach addresses the main challenges that typically come up when trying to establish on-street patios.
Beyond the opportunity to provide spaces for the farm workers to gather, we started thinking as well of ways in which we could program the patios to give teenagers a chance to produce small concerts and events downtown. Recently we added a new teenager to our team at young & free press, Hayden Miller-Cluckie, who lives in Port Dover and attends high school in Simcoe. Hayden is involved in the Norfolk County Youth Council, and we figured that we could start building our network of students locally who might like to help us curate concerts and events. The patios could be used the rest of the time as seating areas for people living and working downtown, and we could add bright chairs to give everyone a place to read or have lunch in the sunshine. Suddenly we had property owners offering to have us locate the patios near their buildings! We are immensely thankful to Brett Schuyler, Hayden Dooney and Dusty Zamecnik for supporting our vision for downtown Simcoe. There is so much potential to activate the space!
And so, we return to our original question: does downtown Simcoe feel open or closed? We believe that the area will feel more inviting if there are active patios on the street and if we encourage a lively, innovative arts scene. We think that the potential exists to build an intriguing international profile for Simcoe given the growing number of international students in the community, plus the seasonal worker population and the increased volume of tourist traffic. We see the potential to market downtown Simcoe as a cultural experience where Thursday and Friday nights transform into celebrations of art, music, food and drink. Now, the challenge is to connect with everyone in the community who wants to see this transformation happen, and to work with Members of Council and County staff to put the foundations in place to move forward. Why wait? Why allow negative perceptions of downtown spaces to continue to take hold? Why not open up more opportunities for entrepreneurs and event-makers?
Ultimately, the quest to transform a downtown and renew an urban environment begins with the desire to find meaning in a place, to create an identity through a shared sense of purpose. We felt this in the room at Groundswell back in December as we brought community leaders and youth together from around Norfolk County. The next step is to infuse all of downtown Simcoe with the same feeling. If the area has felt closed in the past, now things are starting to open up. Stay tuned to young & free press as we continue to help write the story …
Back in the fall, our teenage journalists Alex Popen, Emily Stage and Maddie King met with Felena Periera (front left) and Narisha Gajadhar (front right) to chat about downtown Simcoe. Felena and Narisha are both from Trinidad and work at Schuyler Farms in Norfolk County, two of the more than five thousand seasonal workers who come to the community each year to work in agriculture during the growing season.
Article by Andrew Gunn, Owner & Editor at young & free press and President of Andrew Gunn Consulting Inc. Special note: Andrew helped to develop the Agri-Business Management program at Fanshawe College and taught courses in the program in previous years. He also supported the launch of Ride the Bine. Connect with Andrew via email at andrew@youngandfreepress.ca
