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LoLo BIA taps first director

The Lower Lonsdale Business Improvement Area has appointed its first official executive director.
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The Lower Lonsdale Business Improvement Area has appointed its first official executive director.

Greg Holmes, the former director of sales and marketing for the Vancouver Aquarium, will take the BIA’s top spot serving over 600 businesses and commercial property owners in Lower Lonsdale.

According to a BIA news release, the society now has $500,000 in annual operating funds. Under direction from Holmes and the BIA board, the society will focus on promotion, advertising and events to attract more customers to Lower Lonsdale businesses and highlight the neighbourhood.

“Greg Holmes arrives just at the right time,” stated BIA secretary Iani Makris in a news release. “Within the next 18 months, with the completion of The Shipyards project and the Polygon Gallery, the incredible revitalization of Lower Lonsdale will be nearly complete.  It has already become the go-to place on the North Shore for dining, pampering, waterfront recreation and almost any product or service one would need.”

City council approved the BIA in November 2016.

Approximately 31 per cent of property owners voted against moving forward with a BIA during a negative petition process – well short of the majority it would have taken to halt the formation of the group.

Property owners below East Fourth Street and between Forbes and St. Georges avenues pay approximately $1.05 per $1,000 of assessed property value – or about $440 - to the BIA annually.