District 1881 hasn’t just transformed a city block in downtown Chilliwack, it has changed the way people see their city.
For some, the task of revitalizing the area years ago seemed impossible. But Dave, Peter and Phil Algra of Algra Bros. were steadfast in their dream to bring the neighbourhood back to life.
“It’s basically exactly what we envisioned back in 2018,” Dave said.
It hasn’t been without challenges, and recently they’ve worked through trying to provide the room for the businesses to operate while the last bits of construction are completed.
“The more we get built out, trying to run a construction site and not have it impact our current tenants has been a really big challenge,” he said.
On a recent sunny walk through District 1881, Dave greeted staff and customers on an outdoor patio as he passed by one restaurant. Despite having to speak loudly over the construction noise in the background, the group of diners and their server smiled brightly back and laughed as they chatted briefly with the developer.
Just down Thunderbird Lane, others were seen snapping photos of the large inflatable tulips standing tall in the District Square. It’s the latest visual attraction to be placed in the square, following up on the popularity of 40-foot Christmas tree, a Lunar New Year display and others.
This is exactly the type of life Algra Bros. wanted to bring back to downtown Chilliwack, while helping support the local economy.
And it’s clear they’ve done just that. Some businesses have expanded into District 1881, or relocated, while even more have grown from nothing but an entrepreneurial dream.
Dave admits the term “shop local” is an overused term, but he’s seen firsthand the positive effects it has on a community.
“It is neat that all the revenue that’s generated here — even from us as the owners on the rental side, all the way down to the business owners and staff — all of that money stays and goes to the families that live in our cities in the valley, which I think is really unique,” he said. “There’s no offshore companies taking your money here. It’s all local.”
District 1881 is designed so that people can walk from their home to shops and restaurants, all within a handful of laneways and streets. It’s taken five years to get it to how it looks today.
They purchased the site at the southeast side of Five Corners from the City of Chilliwack in December 2018 and construction began the following spring. Currently, seven of the nine buildings are complete.
Building 8 is under construction and is expected to be finished by July. On the main floor will be two retailers: Emmerson Park Resale, and flower shop Love Her Wild. Several office spaces will fill the second floor.
In the next month or two, construction is scheduled for the ninth and final building, with a completion date around fall of 2025. Building 9, at Sasquatch Lane and Yale Road, will feature three townhouse units, a single 5,000-square-foot retail space on the main floor, plus four storeys of apartments above.
Moving into the 5,000-square-foot space will be Mt. Waddington’s Outdoors. It’ll be their second location and owner Sam Waddington is calling it a “bigger and better” version of their Vedder Road store.
There are about 40 to 45 commercial tenants in District 1881, and more than half of those businesses are owned and operated by women. There are no vacant spaces — everything is full, and all the spaces are either leased or pre-leased.
Currently, approximately 85 to 90 per cent of the project has been built and Dave said he’s “very pleased” with the progress so far.
“Most downtowns and cities suffered because businesses moved away and the retail experience changed to big-box and big-mall.”
The death of downtown areas in North America is a result of segregation planning, the introduction of big-box stores, and large interior malls, all of which went into high gear after the Second World War, he said. Those retail spaces were typically not built in downtown, but rather in the outskirts to serve the suburbs that were built.
“Segregation planning is not transit-friendly, it’s not pedestrian-friendly, it’s not a sustainable way to develop and build,” Dave said. “Most cities in North America have downtowns that are set up to be walkable for people with families to live with one car, or people to live with no cars, and to have a more interactive experience with your neighbours and your communities.”
He believes it’s important to pour time, resources and energy into revitalizing the downtown to promote those ideas.
“I think every city needs this. Every city needs careful redevelopment of their downtown cores to try and make them work and function like they used to and provide that way of life for people. You want to see your city thrive.”
People can’t help but adore District 1881 with its brick walkways, stunning architecture, stylish shops, colourful exteriors and strings of patio lights overhead. Still, many folks in Chilliwack have not yet stepped foot in it.
The brothers hope to see more people visiting in the years months and years ahead.
“When those people do come, they seem really pleased with the transition downtown has made with a retail and visitor experience perspective.”
There’s a lot of “disbelief” that this project actually exists in Chilliwack, he added.
“They’re like ‘this is in Chilliwack?’ People seem very excited and happy.”
He’s hoping District 1881 will inspire others and bring more positive changes to the area.
“This is just a small piece of Chilliwack’s downtown,” he said. “We haven’t redeveloped the downtown, we’ve just created a project in the downtown that is hopefully a catalyst for more to happen here.”
To see this story as it ran in our special section on April 26, 2024 see our e-edition here: Chilliwack in Progress