Supporting Local Businesses Through Corner Store Grants Program
Local businesses make up the heart of our communities and neighbourhoods. They’re where we go to meet friends for coffee, pick up our dry cleaning, or fill our prescriptions. Without small businesses we wouldn’t have a world class food scene, thriving arts and culture or quality local services. They truly add to the vibrancy, diversity and innovation of our city.
Supporting local businesses is an integral part of investing in neighbourhood renewal. Not just for updating infrastructure, but also with the lens of strengthening local economies. It is critical to invest in neighbourhood infrastructure that supports livability, vibrancy and economic opportunity of a community.
The Corner Stores Grant Program is the City’s primary tool for doing that.
The Corner Stores Grant Program provides exterior, interior or small business grants that go towards improvements for commercial properties. These improvements can include construction of storefronts or improvements to an underutilised ground floor, thus building more attractive and functional streetscapes and creating more lively neighbourhood commercial areas.
What began as a Council-endorsed pilot project in 2014, the program has seen incredible success in revitalizing and modernizing communities, providing access to funds for community development, and supporting local businesses in Edmonton. The program was even awarded the Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) Best Economic Development Renewal Project in 2023!
Building on the success of this program, Council supported my motion to continue and expand it to serve more communities across Edmonton. This program will work alongside other City initiatives like the Missing Sidewalk Program to strategically invest in neighbourhood infrastructure across Edmonton.
The Corner Stores Program helps ensure economic prosperity takes place throughout our City, and that Edmontonians have access to quality businesses and services right in their neighbourhoods.
Highlands Neighbourhood Renewal and Corner Store Grant
The Highlands neighborhood in north east Edmonton was part of the 2021 Neighbourhood Renewal Program, in conjunction with the Corner Store Grant supporting the surrounding businesses.
The delivery of the Corner Stores Program in Highlands was largely informed by community feedback, where business owners and operators made a number of suggestions that included maintaining the existing trees, adding bike racks, and helping with traffic concerns connected to speeding and parking.
The final design saw many community suggestions implemented, including installing additional benches and bike racks, widening sidewalks, improving street grading and adding tactile features that helped mitigate traffic concerns.
Other neighbourhoods that have benefited from the Corner Store Grant Program include Belgravia, Ritchie, Baturyn, Newton — with many more neighbourhoods in development
Ritchie Neighbourhood
Next Steps
Council and I are committed to supporting local businesses while improving accessibility, connection and economic developement in communities around Edmonton. As Edmonton changes and grows, planning and strategic investment are necessary to ensure competitiveness and livability.
How To Get Involved
The Corner Store Program is currently accepting applications. Program information and what’s included in the grant can be found online here.
