Community Revitalization Desktop Guide

Case Studies 16 – 17 16. Business Improvement Districts: West Chester and Downingtown West Chester’s Business Improvement District (BID) has moved the city’s downtown from dismal to dynamic. Once a struggling small city, in 2006 West Chester was rated among the top 100 locations in the U.S. by Frommer’s Best Places to Raise a Family. West Chester’s downtown offers a charming and energetic array of 79 retail stores, 55 restaurants, and historical buildings, and is now praised locally and nationally as a walkable destination town. Property values tripled during the BID’s first 5-year term, from 2001-2006. West Chester’s efforts at downtown revival began in the 1980’s with a state-supported Main Street Program, and continued in the late 1990’s with establishment of a Department of Commerce. When that Department’s Director left for a new job, downtown property owners saw the opportunity for a new level of development in the form of a BID. The initial BID effort in the late 1990’s failed because a 2/3 majority vote was required by state law, and more than 1/3 of property owners objected. However, after the BID’s boundaries were re-drawn to focus more narrowly on the downtown proper, the BID proposal succeeded in 2000. Its goals were to attract more customers to the downtown, retain and expand viable businesses, and advocate for the interests of downtown businesses. After conducting a national search, the BID hired Malcolm Johnstone as its Executive Director. Mr. Johnstone had over fifteen years of experience leading downtown programs in Oregon and Idaho and was certified in Professional Downtown Management by the National Main Street Center. The BID maintains a website featuring lists of downtown retailers and restaurants, professional services, events, and maps. It sponsors activities such as Ghost Tours of West Chester, outdoor music on summer evenings, an annual fashion show, and holiday shopping promotions. Publications of the BID include “Your Guide to Doing Business in West Chester” and a colorful map of downtown restaurants and retailers. The BID handles advertising and public relations for district businesses. A “Clean and Green Program” removes litter from downtown public spaces, maintains landscaping, and reports repair needs. The West Chester BID allows the downtown business district to develop and thrive economically. Malcolm Johnstone, the Executive Director, attributes the BID’s success to constant partnership among property owners, the borough, the county, and business organizations, all working toward the common goal of downtown vitality. Since the BID was establish in 2000, more than $14 million has been invested within downtown West Chester. u The Downingtown Main Street Association grew out of the Borough of Downingtown Citizens Core Group, twenty-five residents and business people selected by the Borough in 1992 to discuss revitalization possibilities. Problems at the time included a failing business district and illicit drug use in town. The Core Group’s report recommended improvement of the central downtown shopping district, Route 30 and its business districts, traffic and parking issues, and parks and recreation. From these recommendations, the Borough wrote a Vision for Downingtown, and worked with the State to obtain funding for a Main Street Program, which formed in 1993. Downtown revitalization became the first priority of the Program, which received $1.7 million in State assistance in 1997. The majority of that funding enabled environmental remediation of an industrial site on the edge of downtown, making it suitable for commercial and residential development. The Main Street also secured a Growing Greener grant to substantially improve a stream that flows through the remediated industrial site, now a townhouse community. In 2001 a new park was constructed on the site of an industrial parking lot. Additional development included streetscape improvements such as new lighting, a new town square, façade improvements, pedestrianfriendly intersections, planters, benches, trees, and new signage. Despite these early successes, the Main Street Program stopped operations in January of 2006 citing lack of funds due to a deteriorated relationship with the Borough and disinterest on the part of local business owners and residents. Its closing report described personal conflicts between members of the Main Street Board and members of Borough Council, and the Main Street’s and Council’s mutual failure to agree on a unified vision of whether revitalization of Downingtown is necessary, and what types of revitalization are desirable. The demise of Downingtown’s Main Street attests to the vital importance of cooperation between a Main Street and local government, and of long-term nurturing of good relationships between Main Street Board members and other civic leaders. Downingtown’s experience also shows the necessity for a Main Street to serve and communicate with business owners and residents in ways that persuade them of the Main Street’s importance in the economic future of the community. v West Chester (Chester County) The Westchester BID is governed by a 15-member Board of Directors and receives its funding primarily from an annual assessment paid by commercial properties within the BID, which make median individual payments of $259 annually; nonprofit organizations are asked for voluntary donations. The BID also receives $85,000 annually from parking revenues in the Borough, available because the BID replaced the Department of Commerce. After fulfilling its initial five-year term, the West Chester BID was renewed in 2005 with a 98% approval rating among the 244 property owners. The budget grew from $99,000 in 2001 to $284,000 in 2006. The BID provides unique services to downtown businesses. In its first term, the BID accomplished installation of new streetscapes, façades, signage, and parking. (Façade improvements were funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.) 47 GOAL THREE: WELCOmE INvESTmENT step four: partner with nonprofits to improve redevelopment area

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PA Community Revitalization Desktop Guide Table of Contents How To Attract High Impact Investment to Core Communities Goal One: Choose One Asset-Rich Redevelopment Area Interviews with Pennsylvania Mayors Goal Two: Prepare Redevelopment Area for Market Interviews with Developers who Have Invested in Pennsylvania Cities and Towns Goal Three: Welcome Investment Interviews with Developers who Have Invested in Pennsylvania Cities and Towns Goal Four: Apply Strategies That Work Conclusion

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