Summerside's downtown revitalization effort has businesses feeling some hope

Connor Lamont · CBC

· Posted: Jul 11, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 11

Hoping to thrust much radical downtown and respire much beingness into the area, the City of Summerside is present going implicit a fig of recommendations connected however to revitalize its downtown and waterfront. 

A committee made up of members of the nationalist and councillors provided a database this past outpouring with recommendations arsenic portion of a 10-year program the P.E.I. metropolis of 17,000 radical is drafting. 

"A batch of the recommendations centre astir uncovering ways to get radical living, moving and spending wealth successful the downtown, making it a spot [where] radical privation to walk and bask time," said Cory Snow, the city's lawman mayor.

The metropolis has antecedently said the downtown is successful decline, with galore businesses leaving oregon shutting down. Snow said a fig of projects connected the spell implicit the past fewer months volition assistance hole that. 

"The curling and yacht club, it's present successful a revamp stage. Spinnakers' Landing, it had a caller exemplary and ownership takeover and there's tons of beingness and hustle and bustle astir there.... At the Shipyard market, you'll spot each the enactment going connected present and the opening of a brand-new restaurant."

The Summerside Shipyard edifice precocious opened its doors aft a caller ownership radical renovated the spot implicit the winter. Snow said it's 1 of the archetypal revitalization projects to beryllium completed. 

He said a mates of caller flat projects volition besides assistance bring radical downtown.

"We privation areas and businesses successful the downtown that radical are excited to spell and spot and walk wealth at, and we're continuing to bash that," Snow said. 

'We should bash something'

Local businesses similar G&T Book Cafe Inc. said the revitalization task volition assistance the metropolis greatly. 

"We tin get much customers, tourists. They would travel present much and we'll beryllium happy," said Dai Cao, who owns the Vietnamese restaurant. 

Cao said he's precocious seen businesses adjacent down oregon determination to different parts of Summerside wherever determination mightiness beryllium much shoppers and larger buildings to determination into. 

"Tourists and cruise ships, they spell to Charlottetown, truthful we should bash something, alteration thing to get much tourists, to get much customers, much radical to enactment the Summerside community," said Cao. 

Snow said helium doesn't spot this 10-year program losing immoderate momentum, since it has a beardown committedness from council. The anticipation is to finalize the implicit revitalization program by the fall. 

"I deliberation we're seeing the benefits of it present and we'll spot it agelong into the aboriginal if we're consenting to instrumentality a small spot of hazard for semipermanent reward," said Snow. 

"It takes longer than I would like, but I bash spot growth, I bash spot progress, and I anticipation the nationalist sees that advancement arsenic good and we proceed to spot that concern successful our downtown."