Community engagement, including a survey, pop-up, and focus groups, will take place this month.

The City of Campbell River (the City) is developing a micro market in Campbell River’s downtown core and is looking to the business community and residents for input on the design of the outdoor retail market. This is a new project investment with funding from Island Coastal Economic Trust and the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program delivered through the Province of British Columbia.

The feedback survey is available now at Get Involved Campbell River, the City’s online engagement platform, and the deadline is November 21, 2023. Focus groups and other engagement activities will take place in mid-November, including in-person engagement on November 17 and 18, 2023.

The micro market looks to increase local business vitality and stimulate visitor attraction and resident engagement. The project will involve small and medium-sized businesses that are home or market-based and are looking to grow their businesses into a permanent retail location.

Micro-units offer short-term, affordable lease rates for 12 to 36 months on a rotating basis. They support entrepreneurs and artisans as they grow and establish their business within the first years of operation. Successful applicants will also participate in entrepreneurial programming provided by the City’s Economic Development Department.

“Moving this project forward with the support and valuable insights of the business community and residents in Campbell River and the Strathcona Regional District is incredibly exciting,” said Leah Knutson, Economic Development and Tourism Manager. “Feedback from the businesses that will use this space and the residents that will frequent it will provide direction for the units, surrounding infrastructure and amenities, that will make this a space a vibrant community hub.”

Planning Process

Community engagement will provide insights that will guide the planning and design of the micro units, as well as surrounding infrastructure and amenities for the market area. The planning process will consist of three phases:

Phase 1 – Collecting background research, including case studies, economic, environment, and information on how businesses, organizations, and the general public use the area.

Phase 2 – Exploring community vision, identification of key issues, opportunities and priorities to realize the vision for the micro-unit retail market.

Phase 3 – An architect develops and delivers a design concept to the City of Campbell River for a micro-unit retail market based on information gathered in phases 1 & 2.

The project team will present a What We Heard report and design concept to Council in early 2024.

For more information on this project, and to take the survey, visit Micro Market | Get Involved Campbell River.