Shops say Old East Village construction project has hurt business

Some London shops say the Old East Village construction project has hurt business and they're skeptical that its completion will fix it. 

The project started on March 15 and continues until next week, closing the stretch of Dundas Street between Adelaide and English Streets. It's the final phase of the project.

One of the objectives of the project was to create a "complete street," making room for pedestrians, bicycles and other vehicles. It was to be a "community hub" for residents, while attracting people from across the city. It was also to address problems with water mains and sewers, among other underground issues.

In the long run, Malcolm Watson doesn't believe the improvements to the street will be worth it for their business. He runs Old East Exchange, a second hand furniture shop on Dundas street, which is owned by his sister. 

"What was wrong with the street?" he said. "There was nothing wrong with it. They had to fix it, the plumbing and so on underneath, they had to do that but design: it was fine."

He says their sales have been cut in half due to a number a factors, including COVID, but the construction played a role, too. 

"Construction is rough," said Mark Navackas, the CFO of Fireroasted Coffee Company. "It's tough on small businesses, so you can't see it, but we don't have a cafe here anymore. We just closed it because there was no foot traffic. There's nobody coming by."

After noting that they only had six customers one day, and a few more on another at their Old East Village location, they decided it didn't make sense to keep it open. 

"So, it's dramatically impacted things," Navackas said. "And this neighborhood in particular, and same with the downtown areas, when there's no foot traffic and there's no people it invites other activities to happen."

Owner of the vintage furniture shop, Funky Find, David Thomson, has also noticed a dramatic decrease in foot traffic due to the construction . He said that for the last few months he'd get a customer or two a day. 

"Well, sad to say, but the virus money is the only reason I'm still here," said Thompson. "I mean, at this point, it's the road, not the virus that's keeping people away, but getting the small amount kept me going here."

He does think that the project will be good for business in time, but jokes that he's older now and said he might have looked forward to it if he were younger.

"I hope when the road opens up, people will start coming down here again," he said "People at times are afraid to come down here, so we'll see what happens." 

There will be an official reopening on Nov. 13.