Mon. June 1, 2009
Successful Partnerships, Innovative Programs, Bold Initiatives Define Fiscal Year
WASHINGTON, DC – The Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID) has released its 2008 Annual Report, which highlights the organization’s achievements and goals in key areas, including safety, hospitality and maintenance, economic development, transportation, physical improvements and marketing and special events. As it celebrated 10 years of leadership, the Downtown BID continued to raise the bar to create added value and benefits through innovative approaches and bold new initiatives.
“Last year was certainly one for celebration,” said Richard H. Bradley, executive director of the Downtown BID. “As we looked back on our first 10 years, it was clear how far we have come. The Downtown BID has helped transform Downtown from ‘dull, dirty and dangerous’ to a ‘vibrant, inviting and smart’ urban experience. Along with our public and private partners, we look forward to building on the momentum gained thus far to ensure that yesterday’s dreams are steadily evolving into realities every day in the Downtown BID area.”
In 2008, the Downtown BID continued strong partnerships with the federal and municipal governments, nonprofit organizations and others to address ongoing problems and launch successful initiatives such as creating new bike lanes, developing a smart parking system and restoring Chinatown Park, also known as Reservation 72.
Other report highlights are as follows:
- A 10-year Retrospective outlines the Downtown BID’s evolution from its early days to the present, mapping out key players and events leading to its creation in 1997 and highlighting milestones along the way.
- Safety, Hospitality and Maintenance workers, known as SAMs, continued to perform critical roles, with maintenance teams collecting more than 14,428 bags of litter and trash monthly, nearly double the 2007 total.
- The Downtown BID identified more than 100 chronically homeless individuals for immediate placement into permanent housing through a partnership with Pathways to Housing DC and using the “Housing First” model.
- In partnership with the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, other city agencies and the vending community, the Downtown BID helped improve vending offerings through a demonstration program offering unique, convenient and eco-friendly lunchtime options.
- The Downtown BID officially launched the Greening Downtown Initiative to improve sustainability in Downtown by increasing energy efficiency and reducing dependency on carbon-based fuels.
- The Downtown BID partnered with the Department of Public Works and the American Beverage Association to launch Downtown’s first public recycling program.
The Annual Report outlines the Downtown BID’s leadership in transforming the public environment into a remarkable urban experience, enhancing the environment to be measured successfully by any standard of sustainability, and contributing to the city’s overall fiscal and economic health.
“It’s extremely important,” said Bradley, “that the Downtown BID continues to serve as a leader in everything we do and deliver premier business services, improve economic growth and promote economic diversification creatively and proactively. Downtown’s transformation and the Downtown BID are inextricably linked.”
For more details and insights, the 2008 Annual Report is available at www.downtowndc.org/annualreport.
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