Know of a new business in the BIA district? Or maybe you’ve been here a while but haven’t had a chance to connect with the BIA yet?
About Us
What is a BIA anyway?
We’re glad you asked. In a nutshell, the Heart of Orléans Business Improvement Area (BIA) is a Local Board of Ottawa Council, with a volunteer Board of Management, started by our business community in 2006. BIAs are a way for business districts to pool resources to improve the area, and speak with one common voice. We do this by promoting the areas as a district, advocating on behalf of our members, and making improvements to the streetscape.
If you are interested in the specifics, you can brush up with our Frequently Asked Questions and get a little more up close and personal with our Leadership team, Board Members, Staff and Councillors here. Not sure where the Heart of Orléans BIA is? That’s okay! You can have a quick peek at our Map.
We are also happy to share this video from the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA). It’s a great explanation describing our partnership with the municipality and what a BIA is. You will spot lots from the Heart of Orléans in this video!
Our Vision
- The BIA takes a leadership role in attracting, supporting, and promoting the kind of businesses that makes the Heart of Orléans distinct.
- The BIA is committed to nurturing an engaged and enthusiastic membership that reflects and values our vibrant community.
- The BIA helps to create a beautiful, trendy destination to attract business and visitors.
Our Mandate is to...
1
Promote the area as a District.
2
Advocate on behalf of our members.
3
Make improvements to Streetscape
Our Values
Leadership
We strive to be a strong community leader, influencing decisions for Orléans, and inspiring positive change.
Advocacy
We are committed to advocating for and promoting our district, and empowering our members.
Impact
We support the long-term economic development of our district and the strength and success of our members.
Partnership
We are committed to helping our members connect and collaborate with each other and working with key players in the broader community of Orléans.
Strategy & Governance
Governance
BIAs are Local Boards of Council in municipalities. The Municipal Act, 2001 sets out the rules for establishing a BIA, and further details are set out in the Ontario Business Improvement Area Handbook.
Administration and strategic management of a Business Improvement Area is the responsibility of the board of management. In particular, the board of management is responsible for overseeing the planning, budgeting, as well as implementing and evaluating of BIA initiatives.
There are now over 500 BIAs across Canada, and over 270 in Ontario alone. Here in Ottawa there are 19 Business Improvement Areas. The oldest BIA in Ottawa is Bank Street BIA, established in 1977. The Heart of Orléans BIA was created in 2006 and is now the largest BIA in Ottawa.
Budget
Strategic Planning
Each year, we participate in a strategic planning session with a third-party facilitator to discuss our focus for the year ahead. We continuously refine our approach, concentrating on impactful initiatives that the BIA can directly influence, ensuring high-value outcomes for our members.
Strategic Partnerships
We actively build partnerships with like-minded organizations to support our community. Successful collaborations include the City of Ottawa, Société franco-ontarienne du patrimoine et de l’histoire d’Orléans (SFOPHO), the Shenkman Arts Centre, and Ottawa Tourism.
Memberships
We are proud members of the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas (OCOBIA), representing 19 BIAs and over 6,400 businesses. We also belong to the Ontario BIA Association, which advocates for 100,000+ local businesses across Ontario, as well as Ottawa Tourism, RGA, and the Ottawa Board of Trade.
Our Pillars
Member Services
Making Meaningful Connections
Have you met our Member Services team? If you haven’t met members of our Member Services team here in the The Heart of Orléans BIA, please feel free to reach out to us. We’d love to meet up with you. That’s our job! We’re the group that likes to make meaningful connections by bringing you various networking opportunities such as networking events, community events, and our Annual General Meeting.
We welcome new businesses to the area by letting them know about the services we provide. We regularly connect with longstanding members of our business community to gain insight from their knowledge and experience, helping us enhance our strategies and support local businesses effectively.
Some of the best ways to stay engaged with us is through our website, blog, social media and our e-newsletter, The Beat. Our e-news includes important updates, stories behind the bricks and mortar buildings, information on upcoming events, LRT updates, and more.
Networking
At the Heart of Orléans BIA, we’re proud to bring our business community together with a range of networking events and professional development sessions. With keynote speakers and panel discussions on relevant business topics, these events are designed to foster connections and inspire growth within our local business community. Stay tuned to our Networking Opportunities page for announcements on upcoming events!
Meeting Our Members
We’d love to stop by, say hello, and drop off a welcome kit packed with useful info for your business! From the benefits of being part of the BIA to ways you can get involved, we’re here to help. Feel free to reach out to schedule a visit!
Sign Up for Newsletters
One of the best ways to stay in touch with what is going on in the Heart of Orléans is through subscribing to our newsletter, The Beat. Emails go out twice a month!
You can subscribe at the bottom of most pages of our website.
Become an Associate Member
Many business owners recognize the benefits of being part of the BIA but may not be located within a BIA district. That’s why we’re pleased to offer Associate Memberships, allowing businesses outside our district to enjoy many of the same benefits as full members with a small annual investment. Contact us to learn more or schedule a coffee chat to discuss how an Associate Membership could support your business!
Marketing and Communications
For a Vibrant and Economically Strong District
Our Marketing team strives to improve the visibility of the BIA district in Orléans, build on its unique identity, and encourage you to come check out what we have to offer. You can find a directory of businesses here.
The Marketing team serves as the face of our organization, coordinating and producing materials representing the BIA. Some of the activities you will find the team working on are:
- Defining and maintaining our brand.
- Conducting campaigns for marketing initiatives, including working with influencers.
- Producing marketing and promotional materials.
- Monitoring and managing social media.
- Creating and maintaining our website.
- Conducting market research.
Marketing Strategic Plan
Our most recent Strategic Marketing Plan was developed in 2019. This plan will guide us through the BIA marketing activities between 2020 – 2023. Many thanks to CP Business Solutions for guiding us through the process and producing this complete and thorough working document.
BIA Faces of Business
The BIA Faces of Business campaign is a signature initiative we run throughout the year, shining a spotlight on the incredible people and stories behind our local businesses. Partnering with a local photographer, we capture business owners in their unique spaces and share their stories in our newsletter and across our social media channels.
These profiles help our community get to know the faces behind each storefront and encourage everyone to shop local. Stay tuned to our updates to meet more of the inspiring businesses that make the Heart of Orléans thrive!
Social Media
Tap into our strong social media presence. We currently have a large following across our social media channels and that continues to grow. If you have an event or initiative that is relevant to the district that you would like us to share, please let us know!
You can follow our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts to stay up to date on what’s happening in the Heart of Orléans. Engaging with our posts will help you reach a larger audience on your own social media as well. Be sure to use the hashtag #heartoforleans to get our attention or share the post with us in a DM!
Branded Fun
Who doesn’t love a little branded BIA fun? Check out our latest items below!
Festivals and Events
Come Celebrate With Us!
Let’s Celebrate Together!
The BIA values a vibrant, connected district and is committed to bringing people together through events. Our goal is to make the BIA the go-to place for community gatherings. We’re passionate about celebrating all things local, which is why we partner with a variety of festival organizers, from small to large, to promote and highlight local content.
Do you want to know what is happening in your community? Please see our calendar of upcoming events on the What’s Up page.
Santa’s parade of Lights
One of the largest events we support is Santa’s Parade of Lights organized by Ottawa Professional Firefighter’s Association. This is Orléans’ largest parade that travels down St-Joseph Boulevard from Youville Drive down to Centrum Boulevard on the last Saturday of each November!
It gives businesses the opportunity to offer something unique to the community as they come down to the BIA district early, looking to claim their spot to watch the 100 plus floats! Some offer hot chocolate, others have special menu items available and some businesses even set up bleachers in their parking lots so folks can watch the parade in style!
Santa Parade Recap
The Summer Series
Another fun summer event that occurs in the summer every Thursday at 12:30PM is the Summer Series.
Each week during July and August, we partner with the Shenkman Arts Centre to bring you a free 30 minute concert or performance workshop featuring local artists! Enjoy things like Japanese drumming, Bollywood dance and Brazilian Music all outdoors on the Agora of the Shenkman! If it’s raining, no worries! It all moves indoors!
Orléans Craft Beer Festival
One of the largest festivals that brings people from all over is the Orléans Craft Beer Festival. We love that Orléans Festivals support all things local from the locally crafted beers, wines and spirits to the bands that keep us all singing and dancing the night away!
We love buying groups of tickets and running contests to show what else you can find in the BIA!
Orléans Rib Fest
Another festival that brings the community together is the Orléans Rib Fest. Les Gagné and his team bring in large “ribbers” offering their unique recipes and enjoy getting Orléans all sticky!
Streetscape and Beautification
Streetscape Strategic Plan
We are committed to continuous improvements to make our district more walkable and bike friendly, to keeping it clean and safe. We welcome you to share our vision of developing the district in a way that attracts you, the people that make our community so vibrant.
The BIA has a long-term plan for our district that is meant to:
- Articulate the vision for the future
- Encourage and enhance a vibrant district
- Set out priorities, or areas we could start
- Look at opportunities for redevelopment in the district
- Encourage both public and private sector to coordinate efforts to help make this vision a reality.
We have spent some valuable time with the City of Ottawa’s Planning Team and thrilled to see our streetscape plan become the foundation for the Orléans Corridor Secondary Plan Study
Heart of Orléans Mural
With the help of local artist Robbie Larivière, a.k.a. by his artist name Falldown, the Heart of Orléans BIA has put all we know and love about Orléans on to one wall in our BIA district. You will find historical items such as Paroisse St-Joseph, landmarks such as Petrie Island and special events such as the Cork and Fork throughout this colourful mural.
Come down to have a peek at Cora’s wall at 1971 St-Joseph Boulevard and see if you can spot the artist’s many interpretations of the list of favourites that came right straight from the Orléans community themselves!
Many thanks to the City of Ottawa for covering half the cost through the City of Ottawa’s mural program.
Orléans Pride
In 2022, we partnered with the founder of Orléans Pride, Dr. Holly Ellingwood (He/Him) and the city of Ottawa to install the first Quasar crosswalk in Ottawa. It is located at Centrum Boulevard and Place D’Orléans Drive.
In June 2018, designer Daniel Quasar combined the original rainbow flag with the Transgender Pride Flag, plus stripes of black and brown (representing people of colour), and the Progress Pride Flag was born.
We are absolutely thrilled to have the very first Progress flag or Quasar crosswalk in Ottawa right here in the Heart of Orléans!
Traffic Box Vinyl Wraps
As part of the City of Ottawa’s Vinyl Wrap Program, the Heart of Orléans BIA has wrapped all 13 traffic control boxes located within the district. The design was a creative application of the the Orléans BIA branding, subjected to the City’s design guidelines for vinyl wraps of course. The brand concept was developed by Greenmelon Inc, an Ottawa-based design firm that has been nationally and internationally recognized for their work in graphic design.
Seasonal Lighting Program
Since 2016, The BIA district has been lit up with seasonal LED lighting.
You can see these 5-foot tall snowflakes along St-Joseph Boulevard from mid-November, just in time for Santa’s Parade of Lights!
They brighten our winters right up until the end of March.
Banners and Signage
In addition to six gateway signs marking the entrance to the Heart of Orléans BIA, we also install 74 banners throughout the district to warmly welcome visitors. These street pole banners help animate the area, spotlight local businesses, and promote special events in line with our BIA’s mission and vision, enhancing the overall visitor experience.
Historical Plaque Program
In collaboration with SFOPHO, we have installed numerous informative plaques describing the many historical sites in Orléans.
Many of these special plaques are located right in the BIA district showcasing the history of the site and what it looked like in the 1950s. Every year we work with SFOPHO to add new plaques and/or maintain the existing ones to ensure they are remain legible and vibrant.
Be sure to take a stroll down St-Joseph Boulevard for a pretty impressive history lesson.
BIA Planters
The design of our urban spaces is essential, balancing beauty with function to create an inviting environment. Attractive streetscapes help local businesses thrive, promote safer communities, and improve the flow of the neighbourhood.
Graffiti Removal Program
The Heart of Orléans BIA has an overall goal to keep our district safe, clean, and a place to be proud of. We work very closely with a local City of Ottawa employee with the Special Operations Unit Graffiti Eradication Program to remove graffiti as quickly as possible.
Please help us keep the Heart of Orléans BIA a clean, safe place to live, work and play by reporting any graffiti you come across by calling 3-1-1 or using the 3-1-1 app.
Economic Development
Championing an East-end Economic Corridor
A Changing Landscaping
In 2018, the BIA created the Balance Orléans Task Force to bring more community awareness to this issue and rally support for major employers.
Bringing Balance to Orléans
Even though Orléans has one of the most educated and bilingual workforces in the city, we export most of our workers every day. This is in contrast to other areas of the city. We want to help attract more jobs to Orléans, both federal government jobs and major employers. More employment here also means more business for our existing service sector, every day.
Orléans has undergone significant growth over the past decade and stands ready for even more change. With light rail anticipated to arrive by 2025, new opportunities are on the horizon for economic expansion and a more vibrant, accessible community. The BIA has identified three key priorities to support this transformation:
A Revitalized Centre
We’re actively promoting the Heart of Orléans as a thriving district for business, aiming to create a lively, walkable, and bike-friendly centre that seamlessly connects to the new light rail system. A more accessible and connected core is not only appealing but also beneficial for local businesses.
An East End Economic Corridor
The study we now know as the Orléans Corridor Secondary Plan Study, will include plans for the development of lands surrounding the four new LRT stations and provide recommended improvements to pedestrian, cycling and transit connections throughout Orléans.
This project has replaced two existing secondary plans in the Orléans Town Centre with new policies in the City’s Official Plan, as well as corresponding zoning amendments.
For more information, please go to Engage Ottawa.
