Business Improvement Districts -- Update

1. I forgot to mention the CSD "community services district" that was created for the Mt. Vernon Triangle area. It was spearheaded by developers that wanted to improve the area in advance of development. So it assesses in a way that takes into account future development.

I just talked with someone about a proposed BID in the baseball stadium area. He said that they propose tiers of service, with differential levels of assessment, and that this includes residential developments, although focused on multi-unit buildings, not single-family units.

It's something I'll have to look into. I guess I haven't kept up with the changes in the legislation authorizing different forms.

2. In response to a neighborhood email:

a. I agree that duplicate organizations don't always make sense.
b. That if the groups purportedly representing you aren't, then go your own way.
c. My only problem with BIDs vs. Main Street is that cultural development and heritage is often overlooked by very corporate BIDs. Some BIDs do use Main Street principles to organize and manage their approach. Most of the BIDs in San Diego do so, as do many in Philadelphia. Plus, the Center City BID has a pretty expansive approach that goes beyond a more "office ghetto" mentality.

I joked that it's the difference between a Marriott and a Bed & Breakfast, or Baltimore's Inner Harbor vs. Fells Point, or a shopping mall vs. King Street in Alexandria or Cary Street in Carytown, Richmond.

3. As I said, it's been many years since I looked at BID info in depth. So I just talked with Josh Gibson, director of the new Adams-Morgan BID and he said that BIDs can set their own funding level. The figure of 15 cents/$100 assessed value is used by Capitol Hill. The Downtown BID calculates its assessment on square footage. And the A-M BID charges 21 cents/$100 assessed value, yielding about $300,000, of which more than 50% is used for clean and safe services.

The A-M BID provides cleaning services 7 days/week between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m; and security aide services ("ambassadors") from noon to as late as 4 a.m., depending on the day of the week. On Fridays and Saturdays, security aides are augmented with the addition of four paid off-duty but uniformed police officers.

This $300,000 includes some marketing, but Adams-Morgan Main Street is a separate but allied organization, with its own budget and service offering centered around commercial district improvement.

4. There are many publications about BIDs, including the main manual by the Urban Land Institute, as well as some great online publications from the City of New York.

Index Keywords: business-improvement-districts