Neighborhood commercial district revitalization in DC

Originally, the city had 12 Main Street commercial district revitalization programs.  Now only 4 of the original programs exist (Mt. Pleasant has an unofficial program still, but they dropped out of the city program).  The city "created" some Main Street programs in Wards 4, 5, and 7 at the behest of elected officials, but I doubt any of those programs are really functioning anymore.

Last year I wrote a piece, "Commercial district revitalization: H Street and an assessment of the Main Street program in DC," in response to it being the 10th anniversary of the Main Street program in DC.   That piece focuses on internal organization of the organizing group being key to the ultimate success of the program.

I was talking with a Main Street program director a few weeks ago, and I was told that the Adams-Morgan Main Street program is basically defunct. I know that internal organization was an issue in Adams-Morgan.

Something not adequately discussed in last year's piece was funding.  Sure I mentioned it, but I should have discussed it a bit more deeply, especially as it is an issue in Adams-Morgan.

Typically, across the nation, Business Improvement Districts function in large city commercial districts, especially "Downtown."  Some of the most prominent BIDs in the US are in New York City and Philadelphia, along with DC's Downtown DC BID.  The main actors in BIDs are the property owners.

Note that I have made the point that as BID districts become mixed use with a heavy residential component, organizational and representational structures need to be opened up to resident involvement.  See "NoMA revisited: business planning to develop community."

Main Street groups typically are present in smaller towns and in neighborhood commercial districts that don't have a lot of office buildings.

The Main Street approach is different from the BID approach in that residents and other stakeholders who don't necessarily own businesses in the commercial district are drawn into the organization, to broaden the range of skills and volunteers able to work on issues.  (In my experience, Main Street volunteers tend to be 10-15 years younger than typical historic preservation group members, and live within a couple blocks of the main commercial street.)

Originally in DC, you had neighborhood merchant groups, funded with a wee bit of money from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development, but for the most part, these groups didn't do much.

In the late 1990s, DC authorized the creation of "business improvement districts," which originally focused on districts with large property owners, like Downtown and Georgetown and to some extent Capitol Hill.  Since then BIDs have been created on the Capitol Riverfront and in NoMA, and a variant form was created for Mount Vernon Triangle.

Over time, the BID framework was expanded so that it could be applied to districts with small properties and landholdings, in particular Adams-Morgan.

In 2002, DC launched the Main Street program as an alternative and focused method (the program started in the late 1970s and is active in more than 1,000 communities across North America) for commercial district revitalization that is more appropriately sized for the small commercial districts that typify many of DC's neighborhoods.

A hybrid of the BID and Main Street approach is the "Community Improvement District," a special service district (that's what BIDs are) that covers both commercial and residential areas.  Baltimore has a couple, and one in particular, Charles Village, has been very contentious with a group of residential property owners who resent paying towards the SSD.  California has a lot more types of these districts, especially in San Francisco. 

But I have also written about the BIDs in San Diego, which are somewhat unique, in that they use the BID funding mechanism--a fee per $100/property value--but tend to use the more ground up "Main Street Approach" to shape the programming and orientation of the organization.

So the commercial district revitalization organizations in San Diego have the advantage of steady funding from a property tax assessment like a BID, but the broader organizational, programming, and volunteer structure of a Main Street program.  See "Let's Assess the Assessments" from the San Diego Reader.

That's a form that we're missing in DC, and ultimately the lack of steady funding has been the biggest problem for neighborhood commercial district revitalization organizations in the city.

The Adams Morgan Main Street program had a strong president, but at the same time, there were "my way or the highway" issues with the organization's leadership.  Instead of developing as a Main Street program/BID, the merchants created their own BID, with the support of the Main Street program.

But ultimately, there wasn't enough money and civic capacity for both organizations to exist separately.  So the Main Street program in Adams Morgan, after 11 years, is no more.

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Note that things are changing too as neighborhoods are adding more residents because of the insertion of multiunit residential buildings.  See "Burying the lead: economic value of each new household added to a commercial district-neighborhood-city."

Economic impact of business improvement districts (in San Diego and Canada)

Typically, there are four types of organizations that may be involved in local commercial district revitalization: community development corporations, although cdcs usually focus more on producing housing; merchants associations; Main Street organizations, which link merchants, residents, and other stakeholders; and business improvement districts, which usually are in larger cities, are funded by assessments on commercial property, and spend a goodly portion of their efforts on clean and safe activities, along with property-development-oriented economic development activities.

People usually get confused about what type of organization does what.  The most important things that these organizations do are: (1) marketing the commercial district as a distinct entity; (2) business recruitment and development; (3) streetscape improvement and transportation coordination; (4) clean and safe activities; with funding provided in a wide variety of ways.  Typically, the smaller city and towns don't provide the means to do tax assessments and the bigger cities do.

BIDs usually have the most stable funding source, but tend to be oriented most toward the interests of property owners, because property owners provide the funding support for the organization, and they provide the fewest opportunities for citizens who are not "interested parties" (either property or business owners) to get involved in the activities of the organization.  Lack of citizen involvement can be a particular concern especially because commercial districts are becoming mixed use districts with a goodly amount of residential housing, and BIDs act on business issues in those districts, and residents have limited input into those decisions.

Main Street organizations tend to be more focused on the interests of retail and service businesses, and unlike the BIDs, they work to capture the involvement of local residents, to expand the ability and capacity of the organization to accomplish work.

I've always felt the best possible structure would be to have the regular funding system typically "enjoyed" by BIDs, with the committee structure and community involvement components of the Main Street Approach.

San Diego comes closest to this ideal. 

It has 17 business improvement districts, funded with property assessments, but many are organized like Main Street programs, such as the Little Italy, North Park, and Adams Avenue districts.

Because the programs are up for renewal of their funding stream, a report, The Economic Impact of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in San Diego, was commissioned to determine their impact.  The report found that there is a $5 return for each $1 provided through the property tax assessment.  (Also see this article from the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Study: It pays to have a Business District.")

I haven't worked through the report yet, so I doubt that it has made this distinction between how San Diego BIDs operate versus more typical business improvement districts.

Speaking of economic impact of investment in the coordination and capacity building of traditional commercial districts, the Canadian Urban Research Institute released the report, The value of investing in Canadian DOWNTOWNS,which finds that downtown revitalization is dependent on successful partnership and organizational development.

Now I'm in for it

New painting on the 3500 block of 12th Street NE, west side, Brookland.

I am officially the interim program manager for the Brookland Main Street program in Washington, DC. If I want the job permanently, I will have to re-apply for the position, as it will be posted.

But, I'm in for it, not just locally, but nationally, because I opine plenty about how people should be doing commercial district revitalization.

Just recognize, urban revitalization takes a fair bit of time, as Neal Peirce points out in this column from 2004, "MAIN STREET NICHES IN A MASS SALES WORLD."

To get a sense for the foundation of my approach, see these posts:
-- The soft side of commercial district competition
-- Nurturing independent businesses through creatively reducing capital requirements
-- Commerz in the 'hood, part three
-- To get independent businesses you need to rebuild the supporting infrastructure

which are undergirded by my thinking about the Reilly Law of Retail Gravitation which focuses on measurable indicators--the number and mix of stores in particular shopping destinations. The Law is that with factors being roughly equal (travel, etc.) people will choose the shopping center/option that is better (more and more interesting stores, variety of product selection, etc.). Obvious huh? In the urban context especially, factors that people mull over when deciding between shopping destinations include comfort and perceptions of safety, physical condition of the commercial district, etc.

This is why I joke about Main Street principles #9 and #10 (there are officially only 8 principles)--knowing what you have (or not) and being honest about it; and making the hard choices you need to make in order to improve.

As long as a particular urban commercial district is deficient compared to nearby shopping alternatives, it won't be able to attract new customers, until it starts providing some decent options. That's why I always write about the importance of restaurants, places like Banana Cafe on 8th Street SE, which seeded revitalization by attracting patrons to the corridor despite its negatives, and the existence of few other retail options, because of relatively inexpensive but decent enough food in a comfortable enough atmosphere.

On that note, see Richard's Rules for Restaurant Driven Revitalization.

There's no question that this job is going to reduce my blogwriting...

I hope to organize a Baltimore field trip for Board Members and volunteers in March. In my not so humble opinion, for neighborhood commercial districts that aren't regional shopping or entertainment destinations, south of Philadelphia, Hampden Village and Federal Hill are probably the most successful Main Street commercial districts around (other than Carytown in Richmond, but that's just too long of a drive).

I want to take them to the Waverly Farmers Market, a short jaunt on Greenmount Ave. including a peek into Pete's Diner, maybe up to Belvedere Square, and then a serious walk and presentation in Hampden. (I don't think we can fit Federal Hill in on this tour, because that would be an 8 hour day...)

(From a now out-of-print publication by DC's Downtown BID.)