InFocus Magazine

Ask Holly Grant, the coordinator with Comox Business in Action (BIA), if downtown Comox is reinventing itself, and she’ll tell you Comox already has great stores, excellent services, and the natural attributes that make it an enviable location for doing business.

What’s missing is the celebration of everything Comox has to offer. That’s Grant’s job, and she’s working in collaboration with local business owners, Comox Town Hall, and other Valley stakeholders to bring the fun and enthusiasm back to downtown Comox.

Already, it seems to be working.

Let’s start with a great promotional idea Grant pitched in her job interview—a series of self-guide walking tours through downtown Comox.

“Where it sprang from originally is when my husband and I go away on holiday, we will often visit a Visitors’ Centre or do research online because we like to take advantage of walking tours if one’s available,” says Grant. “It’s a great way to explore a town or city because you get a lot of insider tips—this place is known for its seafood, this is a great place for gifts. We’ve been to France and actually done one in a small town, and then we did one in New York City.”

“I thought Comox is such a walkable community, it seemed like a good fit for us,” continues Grant. “Did you know the number one inquiry at the Comox Valley Visitor Centre is hikes and walks?”

The interview committee liked her idea so much, they asked her to pitch it again to the marketing committee. The result is a new brochure with six self-guided walking tours through and around downtown Comox. The walks cater to a wide range of interests, from the nature enthusiast to the art seekers, foodies and shoppers, and a wide range of fitness levels. Each walk highlights Comox businesses offering food, gifts, souvenirs, and services of interest to visitors and locals alike.

“I wanted this brochure to be inclusive and combine the best that Comox has to offer—the environment, the businesses, and the walkability,” says Grant. “And I wanted the brochure to be valuable in terms of the information and to be very authentic and true. I didn’t want it be gimmicky.”

“We road tested the walks when we designed them,” she continues. Grant even sent her 19-year-old daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend out to walk the routes. “They did the Tree Hugger Track and the Goose Grind and just loved it. And they loved the fact you could just stop and go and grab an ice cream—those little pit stop recommendations. It’s a nice afternoon for somebody of any age.”

So far, Grant says, the feedback has been extremely positive. “The other day I was dropping off copies to the various stores along Comox Avenue and I was sitting on the bench in front of Island Treasures returning phone calls. I had a little stack next to me in an elastic bundle, and a lady came up and grabbed two. I thought this is a good sign, some stranger just comes up and takes a couple right off the top of the pile!”

Copies of the brochure are also available at the Visitor’s Centre, the airport, and the Chambers of Commerce, giving staff a tool to educate visitors about downtown Comox and give them a reason to visit.

Next up for the Comox BIA was the Welcome to Comox package for the boating community.

“Our brand name is Comox by the Sea, and when I started I thought it made sense to go ‘see the sea’, so I went down to visit the marinas and had chats with the marina owners and managers and asked what was something we could do together. What fell out of those conversations was the idea of a welcome package.”

Grant made up some envelopes with the Comox by the Sea logo, put out a call to downtown businesses who might be able to fill the needs of transient boaters, and filled the envelopes with special offers and information for new arrivals at the marina. The package is handed to boaters wanting to know more about the port they are staying in.
“It’s a great way to welcome someone to our community,” says Grant. “Our members are now seeing the boaters coming up from the marina because it’s so walkable and they can have breakfast at the Tea Box, go have a shop at Roxanne’s, or grab a coffee at a discount. Anybody with a coupon in the package has seen an immediate response.”

These are the sorts of things that Comox Mayor Paul Ives wants to see more of in downtown Comox.

“We would like to see some more connectivity between the marinas and the downtown,” says Ives. “We have one of the few south facing waterfronts, and there is a huge opportunity to have our community turn and face the water.”

For Ives and Town Hall, that means seeking out opportunities to improve infrastructure in the three marinas around Comox, encouraging walking and cycling in the downtown core (including plans for an additional walkway between the downtown and the marina), and creating density with downtown living options.

“We were pleased to see the Comox Centre build at the bottom of Church Street with plans for 14 condo units and we are hopeful that as the economy improves, development opportunities will come forward for the old Lorne Hotel and Edgewater Pub sites with a mix of retail and housing,” says Ives. “I know the owners of the Comox Mall have talked about redevelopment that would include residential housing.

“We have a pretty good food and beverage district, but we want to see more retail options. The more people living and working downtown, the more people will shop there,” continues Ives. “And that will bring some vibrancy to the downtown.”

There is already a hint of what’s possible in and around the Comox Marina. Take Desolation Sound Yacht Charters, a business that Grant raves about and one she sees as having a huge possible impact on Comox.

“They’ve been around forever,” says Grant. “New owners—a young couple from France that really wants to become more a part of the community. They do 250 bareback charters—meaning you have to know how to sail a boat—out of the Comox Marina every year and not a single one is from Vancouver Island. They’re all from Alberta or California. But the pricing for chartering a boat is no different than renting an RV to go camping for a week.”

Then there is Compass Adventures, a family water sport business made up of father James Robinson and sons Stuart and Andrew. Many people don’t realize the business is a water sport teaching institution that’s been in operation for more than 25 years, offering Valley residents the skills to access BC’s amazing waterways.

The father and sons trio currently operates a water safe and sailing program for all elementary school students in Comox, a catamaran sailing program for all skill levels, and teach standup paddle boarding. Their Ocean Academy is the only sailing school that teaches exclusively in catamarans, and they were the first to bring standup paddle boarding to the Island. They’ve taught more than 8,000 students to sail, and launched Vancouver Island’s first stand up paddle board race series, Surf S.U.P.

To say these guys are passionate about water sports is an understatement. And they want to make water sports accessible to everyone.

“This is one of the best places in the world to teach sailing and stand up paddling boarding,” says Stuart Robinson. “Even better than Hawaii. It’s flat, it’s less crowded and it’s just as beautiful.

“What we have and what we offer is the highest standard in the world,” he adds. “Programs like this don’t exist in Hawaii.”

“I think the Comox area is such a gem for the water sports that we can kind of take those things for granted. That’s where we come in. You come to appreciate the place we live in a whole new way by coming out on the water. What’s important is learning to be as safe as possible and just getting out on the water, no matter how you do it.

“Anywhere there is such a wonderful watersport area, it becomes the heart of the community and we should focus on that,” says Robinson. “We’re on the verge of some great tourism opportunities.”

Grant, of course, agrees. The BIA recently took out a color advertisement in the travel section of the Victoria Time’s Colonist to get out word to Vancouver Island’s short-haul and weekend tourists about Comox’s four major festivals in August—Filberg, Nautical Days, Originals in the Park, and the Comox Air Show.

“Really, it’s about target marketing,” says Grant.

And, of course fun. This year’s August long weekend includes a Sunday street market along Comox Avenue between Port August and Nordin. Comox by the Sea has invited the Comox Valley Farmer’s Market—music stage and all—to be the special guest. The event will include a draw for a skippered overnight sailing charter for two from Desolation Sound Yacht Charters and a children’s bike decorating contest.

Grant hopes the street market will eventually lead to a permanent Farmer’s Market in Comox.

“We are doing all of this bit by bit right now,” says Grant. “It’s a small budget, and business owners are busy running their businesses and the amount of time they have to contribute to volunteer activities like the Business Improvement Association is limited. That’s understandable. What we’re hoping is that by doing this now, and taking steps to promote the downtown, we will work our way toward a vision and a plan that shows Comox for what it is: a great place to live, work and visit.”

 

For more information visit  www.comoxbythesea.com or follow them on Facebook.