Photo by Yousouf Atchia Photography
Blog Post by Chantel Tesolin
Streetsville: The Village in The City. Whoever chose that name knew what they were doing, because the township’s name reflects its unique historical character relative to the surrounding cityscape. Did you know that Streetsville has the largest number of historical buildings in Mississauga? It is one of Mississauga’s founding villages, characterized by its 19th- and early 20th-century buildings. Streetsville is a cultural cornerstone (or as they say, a true oldie but a goodie), and it is finally getting recognition for it. In December 2024, Streetsville was named a Heritage Conservation District and was only recently included in Section V of the Ontario Heritage Act.1 This begs the question: how can the businesses of Streetsville make the most out of this change and use the village’s fancy new title as a means to drive business?
Streetsville offers a refined retreat into the Victorian era. Hence, the City’s recent Streetsville Heritage Conservation District Plan outlines guidelines for the development of properties located within the Streetsville district.2 Development in Streetsville can be contentious, but with that, the emphasis placed on Streetsville’s heritage rings a familiar bell for business owners: cha-ching. This takes the form of funding opportunities for property owners and businesses. The City of Mississauga has a Designated Heritage Property Grant that allows heritage property owners looking to conserve and repair their property to apply for grants between $500 and $25,000, or half the project costs (the figure is whichever one is cheaper, just in case you got your hopes up).3 And now for the cherry on top, the Ontario Heritage Act authorizes municipalities to provide property tax rebates of 10% to 40% to owners of heritage properties. The City can use this Act to freeze the amount of property tax at the pre-restoration level for a specified number of years. The property owner must then agree to apply this amount to the property’s restoration (once again, just in case you thought this was all gravy).4
If that didn’t paint a clear enough picture (wait for it), the City of Mississauga just recently updated its old art initiatives to include a Public Art Plan running from 2025 to 2029.5 This plan provides free development and conservation of public art in five selected priority public art zones. One of these priority public art zones includes heritage sites. With its recent status as a Heritage Conservation District, which town do you think qualifies as a priority zone for these public art opportunities? Ding-ding-ding! Streetsville!6 The public art will focus on thematic and contemporary art, as well as local heritage.
What if we told you being a historical site provides endless possibilities for municipal initiatives to share Streetsville’s heritage? These opportunities include utilizing existing technologies to share Streetsville’s heritage. One example could be a tool similar to the THOM tool used in Carassauga, which allows visitors to hold their phone next to an object or historical monument and allows them to access information about the monument and its history.7 Similar tools can be applied to Streetsville’s historical landmarks to attract new crowds of visitors to the area.
While we acknowledge the City’s doing its part to allow businesses to access these programs, Streetsville could still use a little…zhuzh. For example, storefront facades that match Streetsville’s historical identity can be a major step towards increasing the town’s visual cohesion. Creating a more cohesive image of the town drives in more customers, which benefits businesses, you get the drill. Improving your storefront benefits you, but it also benefits the community. Shouldn’t the effort to make our town sparkle be a shared responsibility, rather than resting solely on business owners? For example, in other municipalities, such as Toronto, storefront facades are a top priority as far as business initiatives go, with the City paying for half of the cost of most facade improvements.8 What are your thoughts on the City of Mississauga having such a program available for business owners?
It’s clear that there are resources out there to assist with business improvement, but there is room for improvement in how Main Street businesses are supported in Mississauga. Specifically for Streetsville, – as was mentioned in the dissertation above – the labelling of the village as a Heritage Cultural District provides our small town and its business owners with newfound opportunities for growth. However, the individual businesses’ actions and the BIA’s initiatives play a big role in supporting Streetsville’s continued vibrancy and growth. And with the help of the City, we can utilize Streetsville’s historical status to boost the local economy and create a unique shopping experience for customers. Village in the City or diamond in the rough, Streetsville is a gem, and it’s time we start polishing it.
Reference 1: Ward 11 Councillor’s Report
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