I own a fitness club that has been in business for 14 years that was doing fine until our rent was raised 30 percent last year. The landlord wanted to raise it 50 percent and we spent four months negotiating it down. He told us he was “doing us a favor.”
I have seen many small businesses disappear over the last few years because they simply cannot survive in this environment. The entire character of our downtown is changing and it will continue to do so unless something like rent control can happen.
– resident and Downtown business owner