City's retail rent, reno costs push some new businesses to set up shop in the county
CBC
Buying a commercial property, outside of Windsor was never the plan for business owner Alexandrea Anber.
But after touring about two dozen rental spaces in the southwestern Ontario city, Anber said it made the most sense.
Anber, owner of Auntie Aldoo's Kitchen, has been renting kitchens in the city for the last three and a half years. At the start of October, she got her first storefront in Cottam — 35 kilometres outside of the city where she built her business and her clientele.
"I really thought I'd do well in Windsor ... but things change," she said.
And while moving out of the city worries her when it comes to returning customers, she said Windsor was too pricey for her to grow in.
"It was about $14 to $16 [a square foot], it was pretty high anywhere I went that I knew would benefit me ... even in developing places like Ford City and downtown, the rent prices are pretty nuts," she said.
Though Windsorites have seen the housing market hit all-time highs, commercial properties haven't seen the same dramatic increase, but they've still gone up, according to president of the Windsor-Essex Association of Realtors Damon Winney.