The City of St. John’s is inviting residents, businesses, and interested parties to an Open House on June 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at City Hall to provide feedback on several initiatives to plan the future for downtown.
A key focus of the event will be to provide feedback on Downtown Forward, a new Neighbourhood Plan that outlines a vision for growth, investment, and renewal over the next 10 years. Aligned with the City’s Envision Municipal Plan and Strategic Plan, the plan was developed following public engagement and includes recommendations across several key themes:
Residents and interested parties can also provide feedback on the plan online at EngageStJohns.ca, by email at Engage@StJohns.ca or by dialing 311 and asking to speak to a member of the project team. Feedback will be collected until Friday, June 20, 2025.
In addition to the Downtown Forward Plan, the City will share outcomes from the recent Downtown Summit held in April 2025. The summit, hosted by Destination St. John’s, marked a major collaborative step toward reimagining the future of the city’s downtown. Bringing together over 110 interested parties from the business community and both municipal and provincial government, the summit explored various key topics such as safety, cleanliness and beautification, transportation and parking, and economic development.
Building on what we heard during the Downtown Summit, the Open House will give participants an opportunity to reflect on the themes and ideas identified to date and provide input on what matters most to them. Feedback collected will help shape a Roadmap to Revitalization — a community-driven action plan to complement the Neighbourhood Plan by exploring and implementing practical solutions, partnerships, and new ideas for downtown’s future. Information will also be taken into account for the long-term plan for the Downtown Pedestrian Mall.
The City recognizes that some people may need alternate ways to provide feedback. If accommodations are required for an in-person meeting or to provide feedback, please email engage@stjohns.ca or call 311 and ask to speak with a member of the project team.
For more information on how to engage, visit StJohns.ca/Downtown.
Helpful Links:
Downtown St. John’s is excited to announce its Façade Improvement Program is once again available to all Business Improvement Area (BIA) members.
If you are a business or commercial property owner in the Downtown St. John’s Business Improvement Area (BIA) and have been wanting to spruce up your ‘street appeal’ then this is the program for you. This program is not available to residential properties or commercial properties outside the BIA.
The program can provide a reimbursement of up to $3000.00 per approved site, contingent upon matching dollars from the applicant, towards the costs of eligible renovations. This amount could increase to $4000.00 if a particular property / business is located on a corner with two street facing (or designated lane way) facades directly adjacent to a side walk.
Eligible renovations include: design consultants fees, restoration of exterior finishes and repainting, signs that are uniquely designed to integrate into building architecture, repair and replacement of store front windows and doors, exterior lighting, removal of materials that cover architectural details, and the addition of new architectural details.
The purpose of this program is to continue the revitalization of the Downtown commercial core by improving the physical appearance of the buildings and therefore making Downtown St. John’s a more inviting and interesting place to work, shop, and visit.
To reap the benefits of this initiative you must fill out an application and meet the qualifications set out in the program guidelines. Applications and a complete list of guidelines are currently available below.
Applications will be accepted until funding for the 2025 program has been allocated. Applications can be emailed to scott@downtownstjohns.com. Please do not mail applications. Photos of the current facade can be emailed to accompany the application.
Applications must be complete with a copy of your Tax Clearance Letter. Tax Clearance Letters can be obtained by calling Revenue Accounting at the City of St. John’s at 576 8357.
The Façade Improvement Program is an excellent opportunity to help polish the jewel of the City that is Downtown St. John’s while enhancing your property and/or business at the same time. Your involvement is crucial for the program’s success!
For more information and to get a copy of the Facade Improvement Program application you may contact Scott Cluney, Executive Director Downtown St. John’s by calling 579-4139 or by email at scott@downtownstjohns.com
Facade Program 2025 APPLICATION V1
DTSJ -Facade 2-Pager 2025 – Web
Over 40 Downtown St. John’s Business Commission member restaurants participated in the 2025 Downtown St. John’s Burger Battle!
Each restaurant that participated in the 2025 Burger Battle donated a $25 gift card to the winners of the #DTBurgerBattle2025 Social Media contest.
Check out the list below to see if you were a lucky winner!
If your social media identity is listed below, please contact the Downtown St. John’s Business Commission office to arrange to get your $25 gift card!
Email: info@downtownstjohns.com
Twitter: @DowntownStJohns
IG: lovedowntownstjohns
Facebook: Downtown St. John’s @downtownstjohnsnl
Congrats to everyone, and thank you so much for supporting our Downtown St. John’s Business Commission member restaurants during the burger battle! Please continue to support your favourite local shop and restaurant and #lovedowntownstjohns.
Winners are listed below as identified by their social media usernames on Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram:
Dave Lee (FB)
Tony Lucas Realtor (FB)
Natasha Sutherland Realtor (FB)
Kristina Stone- EXP Realty (FB)
Sarah Elizabeth Walsh (FB)
Ashley Mugford (FB)
Michelle Feener (FB)
Eric Taylor (FB)
Ariel Mongaya (FB)
stjohnseats (IG)
rabbittown.review (IG)
sharonsnow9458 (IG)
katez.platez (IG)
stuffthatinyourgob (IG)
susiefoodie86 (IG)
jenbpike (IG)
dwayneyoungrealestate (IG)
collinslana1 (IG)
kaytealifestyle (IG)
sarah_walsh88(IG)
daniellegardinerwarren (IG)
ashleyamugford (IG)
jenbpike (IG)
heather.jones.rmt (IG)
cmrrowsell (IG)
justjason709 (X)
ASaunders87 (X)
jerry4nape (X)