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The future of Function

Business park coming together to discuss plans and possibilities
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Soho Sweet The annual Function Block Party, hosted by the Whistler Arts Council, brough a record crowd to the industrial park on July 26. Photo by Joern Rhode

After the Olympic boom settled, Function Junction was plastered with real estate boards announcing spaces for sale or for lease — a ghost town outside of working hours with a surplus of space to spare.

Now the signs are coming down as a growing number of businesses and entrepreneurs set up shop at prime locations in the business/industrial park, but it's a slow process — one that commercial landlord Steve Bayly says is complicated by the lure of Squamish's big box stores, the upgraded highway that makes it easier for people to shop at them, and the growing supply of new warehouse space in Function. If a rezoning application goes through for the First Nations-owned lands at the southwest corner of Highway 99 and Alpha Lake Road, the number of spaces will increase even more.

On the fringe of all these new businesses and challenges sits Whistler's cultural tourism plan, based on a report by consultant Steve Thorne titled A Tapestry of Place. Among other things, the report envisioned Function Junction as an alternative arts and culture centre for the community, similar to the Soho districts of London and New York where tourists can watch artists and artisans of all descriptions at work.

In Thorne's own words to Pique, "Function is a mixed-use precinct that feels organic, funky, and unplanned. Its character and sense of place is very different from the village. With its cluster of artist studios, one-of-a-kind eateries, and manufacturers of artisanal products, Function brings an entirely different dimension to the visitor experience. Cultural tourists love places like Function. They're unique, authentic and alive."

A committee called the Alliance for Cultural Tourism (ACT) was created with stakeholders in the resort in 2011 to turn Thorne's vision for the resort into reality.

On July 19 ACT hosted a vision session with Function residents and businesses to find out what the community would like to see happen — if they were interested in becoming Whistler's Soho, and how ACT and its partners could help make that happen.

Participants in the meeting ranged from Function-based artists to the owner of a construction company. While there was some disagreement over the actual tourism potential, the general consensus was that Function Junction has been left out in the cold when it comes to infrastructure like sidewalks and signage.

However, the attendees were also unanimous that the lack of central planning for the business park has actually been a good thing, making the eclectic mix of light and heavy industry, retail, offices, services, recreation, art studios and residential units possible.

Bayly couldn't attend the ACT meeting but echoed that sentiment when reached by Pique. "I think it's going to continue morphing," he said. "One of the things about Function is that it evolved — and evolved completely — from market forces. It hasn't had excessive planning. It hasn't had people trying to figure out what it should be and mandating that it be that, and that only. It's the rascal. It figures itself out."

At the end of the meeting, the conclusion reached by participants is that it is time to get organized as a group, as different as their businesses and visions for the business park may be. Attendees agreed they would work with the Whistler Chamber of Commerce to form some kind of merchants association for Function — something that's been attempted before but never caught on.

That association would recruit Function businesses as members and lobby for things the business park needs — a list of amenities that includes sidewalks, a more welcome intersection at Highway 99 with public art and landscaping, a community map to show people where tourist attractions are located, Ministry of Transportation highway signage to let people know that there are artists and tourist attractions in the business park, and better connectivity to the rest of Whistler through an extension of the Valley Trail and improved transit service.

"We have to retain most of what (Function Junction) is right now," said Harvey Lim of Art Junction, discussing the unique character of the business/industrial park. "We're off the grid and unregulated compared to the village, which is a good thing. But it's going to evolve regardless of what we do. There does need to be better access with a large residential component living across the highway and at the end of Function (The Lofts)."

Lim told Pique after the meeting that they expected the minutes from the meeting from ACT in the next few weeks, at which point they would set the date. He'd like to see the association created by the fall to start lobbying for the things they need.

Lim said the energy in the business park has stepped up a notch recently.

"I think there's quite a buzz down here," he said. "There's a martial arts studio opening across the road, CrossFit is moving down here, and we've got Bounce... and Vibe as well. So you've got that component, the recreation side of things. Hopefully we'll get that grocery store. And we already have a lot of cool little businesses like Pure Bread, Daily Planet, Patina, and all the little gems like that.

"I'm learning more about this place day by day. I didn't know until a month ago that Namaste produced their teas down here as well. We've got Prior and Chromag and The Fix and Fineline and all those retailers — it's definitely an area that's up and coming, and it's going in the right direction, I think."

As for balancing the need to establish the business park for residents and tourists while keeping the character of the area intact, Lim said it will be tough.

"There's obviously a fine line we have to walk here because we don't want all the bylaws and regulations that pertain to the village coming down here. But I do think there needs to be a bit more infrastructure down here, just from the safety point of view. We get young families walking down here from Cheakamus and Spring Creek, and it's just not nice for them to walk on the street without any sidewalks or anything like that."

Most of the participants at the meeting agreed that they should be getting more service for their commercial property taxes. Although rents are far lower in Function — three to four times lower depending on the space, and, unlike the village there are units for sale — Function businesses pointed out that they pay the same tax rate as businesses in the village that benefit from municipal landscaping, maintenance, lighting, transit and other amenities.

There is also a perception among Function businesses that the municipality would be hesitant to provide anything that could take away from the village experience or upset village retailers who are struggling with high rents.

The original vision for Function was for a mix of heavy and light industry, and shops like carpet stores and automotive service centres.

Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden said the village would continue to be a focus for the resort, but the municipality also had to recognize Function's growing role.

"For many, many years (Function) has been the so-called back of house location for all kinds of businesses that need more room than what's available here in the village or simply are not suited to the village, and it's going to continue into the future to provide that location," she said. "It's also changing a little bit in that it's providing for some day-to-day convenience needs for the new Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood across the street.

"It's a balance. The grocery store (Olives' rezoning application for the space occupied by Burnt Stew Café) is going through the rezoning process, and if people believe it's in direct competition with businesses in the village then we'll hear that. But, as I mentioned, there are some additional new uses that are appropriate to locate in Function Junction because they're providing some services to Cheakamus Crossing."

Participants at the ACT meeting weren't looking to upset that balance either, or to drive out any of the industrial uses to make the area more appealing to tourists. They would rather keep it authentic.

Meanwhile, Function is changing with a growing mix of recreation and retail, including arts. Penny Eder, the owner and operator of White Dog Whistler Studio Gallery in Function Junction, which showcases various local artists as well as her own pottery, likes what she's seeing. She's a proponent of creating a merchants' association, and has been lobbying for signage for the highway.

"At the meeting I did bring up the idea of having a large piece of public art right at the entrance to Function, which is also the entrance to Whistler, where I believe our boundary starts," she said. "Sidewalks would definitely help, but I don't know if that's going to happen. But we definitely need something to make it easier for people to walk around here, whether that's lowering the speed limit or something else."

Eder also said that growth and change should be "organic" rather than structured through any sort of plan. And while getting everyone to agree on what the future should look like for the business park will be tough, she says that everyone wants the same things.

"It's going to be a bit of work to get everyone to agree on what the future will be, but I believe everyone is positive about our future down here," she said. "I think we also agree that we want to keep the essence of what Function is, while still working to bring in more people and growing the recognition of the area as not just an industrial park."

While there are already things for tourists to do in Function — both Whistler Brewing and Prior Skis and Snowboards offer tours, for example — one participant pointed out that Function's current hours of operation aren't friendly to tourism.

"There a problem with the transportation that we have and the hours that we keep here," said Brian Van Stratten, who runs the Re-Built-It Centre. "(Tourists) want to go somewhere they can catch a bus, and there's not much service during the day. The restaurants close at four, the businesses close at five. If you're going to push (tourists) down here, you have to have something for them to do."

That issue was addressed by the concept of a business association for Function, and the possibility of hosting more events like the Function Block pARTy — an artist showcase hosted by the Whistler Arts Council (WAC) on July 26 as part of its annual ArtWalk celebration.

Some businesses in the south end of town already do get a large number of visitors. Dave "Pepe" Petko has lived and worked in Function for 24 years — the Mayor of Function, one participant joked — and estimates that his art gallery and tattoo shop gets half of its business from visitors to the resort. Some of the furniture and antique stores see a large number of tourists, 20 per cent or more. Whistler Brewing has also become an attraction.

All of the businesses at the meeting were keen to increase business, but wary of any change that could upset the balance of the business park — or raise rents, which could change the mix of stores.

"We like it how it is," said Petko of the current mix of businesses.