Tues. March 13, 2007
(Washington, D.C.) — The International Downtown Association (IDA) has selected the Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID) as Downtown of the Month for March. A world leader and champion for vital and livable urban centers, IDA spotlights one downtown every month and tells their story to the world through its website and publications.
IDA staff, consisting of leaders in economic development and association management, searches through resources that include newsletters, e-bulletins, professional journals, newspaper stories and websites for downtowns and downtown organizations that are making significant strides in terms of overall revitalization. A variety of criteria is used to determine monthly winners, including significance of projects and programs, impact on downtown and the community, stakeholder support, creativity and imagination, quality of the downtown experience and leadership and management.
Since its inception in 1997, the Downtown DC BID has contributed to the economic growth and image of Downtown DC by delivering high levels of safety, hospitality, maintenance, homeless, economic development, transportation, streetscape and marketing services that provide a satisfying experience for property owners, tenants, residents and visitors. These efforts have helped to promote Downtown DC as the cultural and entertainment center of the region.
“We are very pleased by this recognition. It affirms the dynamic growth of our Downtown marketplace as well as the public/private collaborations to insure that the Downtown experience is engaging, authentic, inclusive and best in class,” said Rich Bradley, executive director of the Downtown DC BID.
The Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID) is a tax-funded nonprofit that works to revitalize the city’s urban core. The BID covers a 140-block area where property owners tax themselves to make their community cleaner, safer and more vibrant. These taxes are used to purchase services and capital improvements that supplement those that the city provides.
Approximately 825 properties located within the area bounded by Constitution Avenue to the south, Massachusetts Avenue and K Street NE to the north, Louisiana Avenue to the east and 16th Street to the west constitute the Downtown DC BID. This includes sections of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions 2B, 2C, 2F and 6B and all, or parts of, the Penn Quarter, Gallery Place, Chinatown, McPherson Square, Mount Vernon Square, Midtown, Federal Triangle, Union Station and Franklin Square neighborhoods.
The Downtown DC BID will be featured throughout the month of March on IDA’s website as well as in the IDA Dialogue, a monthly e-newsletter.
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