Right Now Downtown

THE REAL DIVINE MS. M

Meet Melissa Fast.  She’s officially on board at Capital Crossroads SID as Marketing Director.

Officially, she started last Monday.  Unofficially, she’s been supporting the downtown community for years.

As a local patron of the businesses, restaurants and arts scene, the new director has long celebrated the city’s core as its crowning glory.  She says, “I want to help promote the fact that it is a destination – whether it’s for a cup of coffee in the afternoon or a night of entertainment.”

She continues, “I really want to do my part to make sure that people embrace the fact that downtown is a cool place to be.  I think it’s important for the experience to be easy for people so they want to keep coming back.”  It’s everyone’s neighborhood.

Her favorite downtown finds have stories behind them – like the treasures from Pearl Market.  In fact, the Pearl Market itself is a great place to find a story.  The shops were just highlighted in The Columbus Dispatch… and the market caught the national spotlight when the Associated Press picked up the story for distribution.

Downtown Columbus is indeed a place with a great story.

They vied for your votes via video.  The competition was fierce.  And the final margins were razor thin.

Congratulations to the 2010 Show Your Love Contest Winner (drum roll please…)

Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace!!!

Thanks to all of you who voted for your flav-o-favs!  With hundreds of votes cast, J. Gumbo’s fell short of the winner’s spot by a mere three votes, with Jack’s Diner, last year’s Show Your Love winner, and Burgers Dogs and Fries in hot pursuit.

Now the love showing worked both ways.  By voting for their favorite lunch spot, food fans were entered to win free lunches from our featured downtown restaurants: Barrio, Burgers Dogs and Fries, Caffe Daniela, Dirty Frank’s, J. Gumbo’s, and Plantain Cafe.  Congratulations to our winners who now know that there is such thing as a free lunch:

Erika Haske
Trish Mester
Alyson Miles
Angela Butler
Kristine Kring
Jen Town
Christina Ringley
Mary Groves
Jeremy
Chris Powers
Joshua Young
Rhonda Ries
Sandy Auckerman
Chris Carpenter
Mark Siple
Kris Davis
Charlie Letson

Without question, Downtown Columbus is the most underserved retail location in Central Ohio.  With 100,000 employees; 5,500 residents; 250,000 overnight hotel guest; 31,000 college students; 65,000 in-town residents in the Short North, German Village and surrounding areas; and millions of day visitors to the Arena District, Convention Center, theatres and museums, there is significant demand for retail services.  But since the collapse of City Center, downtown has lost its retail sector and the ability to attract corporate retails stores.

Without a major developer pulling those corporate chains downtown, they likely won’t reemerge anytime soon.  But that does not mean that downtown cannot attract retailers.  Independent and start-up retail are the likely players in downtown’s retail future.  But after years of negative coverage surrounding City Center’s demise, there is a negative perception of downtown retail.

Capital Crossroads SID and the City of Columbus have developed a new retail initiative to educate independent and start-up retailers about downtown to and to help overcome the misperceptions that abound.  Announced by Boyce Safford, Director of the City’s Development Department, at the Capital Crossroads Annual Meeting in November, the City is offering several incentives to entice retailers downtown.

The incentives, which apply to the “Mile on High” are on High Street from Spring Street to Mound Street and from Front Street to Fourth Street, include cash incentives and tax abatement specifically for retail investments for property owners and retailers.

However, there remains a communication gap.  Work must be done to overcome the misapprehensions retailers hold and to share the information regarding the City incentives.  Relationships need to be built with independent retailers throughout the area to encourage them to consider downtown as a location.

To that end, Kacey Campbell, the former CCSID Promotions Coordinator, has been tapped as the new downtown Retail Recruiter.  Campbell will serve as a “matchmaker”, reaching out to retailers, answering questions, encouraging them to consider downtown, then matching them with leasing agents who can finalize the deal.

For the last four years, Campbell has connected with existing downtown retailers and with the many vendors who participate in the very successful Pearl Market.  She has an understanding of downtown and believes in its potential.

“There is a huge demand for retail in downtown,” says Campbell.  “It’s a matter of getting accurate information to people and then helping them navigate downtown.  It will take time to see results, but there is good opportunity.”

The seeds of success are already sewn, evidenced by the burgeoning pockets of retail on Gay Street and Fourth Street.  Programs such as this have also proven successful in other cities with a dearth of downtown retail, including Nashville, St. Louis and Minneapolis.  With new incentives from the City and a retail recruiter making the pitch, look for retail to return to the heart of Columbus.

Recent snow storms showed that employees who commute by bus can be more reliable than employees who drive.  Last Tuesday, I had to advise my own staff about whether to come to work on Wednesday in a level 2 snow emergency.  Because driving is discouraged during a level 2 emergency, I notified employees who drive to work that they could stay home on Wednesday.  Employees who take transit had no such excuse.  I required them to come to the office.

The experience got me thinking more about the logic of company policies toward parking and transit.  Employee parking benefits are common, but transit benefits are not.  Some companies pay $85 to $160 per month for an employee to park at commercial garages or lots.  Others build and maintain their own parking facilities and offer “free” parking to employees.

Both options are expensive and create an artificial demand for parking, unless companies also offer transit benefits.  Parking benefits can drive up the cost of doing business downtown because bus passes are generally less expensive than parking.  Given a choice, many employees will choose to take transit if free passes are offered as an alternative to free parking.

For many tenants, workers and visitors, the Capital Crossroads Clean and Safe Ambassadors are the face of downtown.  While the ambassador program is operated out of the Capital Crossroads SID offices on Fourth Street, it is managed by an outside business specializing in SIDs and clean and safe services.  Since the beginning of January, a new, locally-based company has taken over the contract: Ohio Support Services.

Since the SID’s inception, the clean and safe program was overseen by a national company called Block By Block.  Though Block By Block had done a commendable job, in 2009, the CCSID and Discovery SID boards determined that a request for proposal should be made.  This was done to ensure that the SIDs were indeed getting the best service possible for the best price.

Nine proposals were received, and four companies were chosen to interview, two local and two national.  Ohio Support Services, a local company with experience providing clean and safe services for a number of downtown buildings, eventually won the contract.

“After studying the proposals and going through the interview process, the boards decided that, all things being equal, they would like to go local,” explained Lisa Defendiefer, Downtown Safety Coordinator.  “Block By Block did a good job, especially when we were getting the program off the ground, but the property owners definitely saw the value in supporting a local company.”

Because OSS’s offices are local, it has freed the Capital Crossroads Operations Manager and Operations Supervisor to be out on the street more, working directly with the ambassadors and the public.  In addition, OSS provided security in buildings throughout the downtown; these relationships have served to improve the network of security offered by CCSID.

The boards were also impressed with OSS’s president, Scott Tucker, who is committed to downtown and cares about the community.  He has a history of giving back, and has been actively involved in ASIS, an organization that helps train security officers to be top of the line employees.

The good news for downtown tenants, residents and workers is that you won’t really notice the difference.  While the change improves function within the CCSID offices, the services provided for both cleanliness and safety on the streets will remain the same.  In addition, both OSS and Block By Block worked together to smooth the transition, so CCSID was able to retain more than 95% of the ambassador personnel.  One change is the new CCSID Operations Manager, Ben Barker, who was previously with OSS as a security manager at the Grange Building. 

“OSS received hundreds of applicants for the position and eventually narrowed the field to two highly qualified candidates.  Cleve Ricksecker and I sat in on the final interviews and were definitely struck by Ben’s depth of security knowledge, enthusiasm, confidence, and love of new challenges,” added Defendiefer.  “A change like this could have been tough on the ambassadors, but they have handled it well.  OSS has just done a great job with the details of the transition; it’s been pretty seamless.”

At the Capital Crossroads Annual Meeting in November, Executive Director Cleve Ricksecker reported on one of the core missions of Capital Crossroads SID: safety.  CCSID continues to partner with the Columbus Division of Police to promote safety downtown.  The ongoing efforts of CCSID’s safety ambassadors include patrolling the district, observing their surroundings, notifying the police of any criminal activity, and reporting even minor offenses and disorder to the SID special duty police officers. Additionally, the reassuring presence of the ambassadors, combined with keeping the environment clean, help promote safety in the downtown core. 

This hard work has resulted in good news for downtown in 2009.  While comparing crime rates across precincts is not an exact science, using conservative estimates, the downtown Columbus precinct is now among the three safest in the city.  After experiencing a 37% decrease in crime from 2002 to 2008, there was a slight increase in 2009.  This was due primarily to an increase in car break-ins, a phenomenon which was true citywide.  Downtown’s increase in this type of crime was lower than the citywide average. 

“We remain grateful to the Columbus Division of Police for their excellent work,” said Ricksecker.  “They understand that law enforcement requires a variety of approaches and resources, and agree with the old English saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” 

Bike patrol officers are proactive in eliminating problems and preventing crimes, and the special duty officers hired by the SID supplements those efforts.  In addition, the SID’s Outreach Specialist, Alyson Poirier, helps the homeless and those with mental health or addiction issues by linking them with social services, which keeps them off the streets and from possibly contributing to safety issues. 

Finally, the SID uses its communications vehicles to remind residents, employees and visitors not to give to panhandlers and to be aware of the risk of leaving valuables in plain sight in a car.  

All these efforts combined contribute to a safer downtown.

THE “GREAT AND POWERFUL” SID

Remember that scene in The Wizard of Oz when Toto pulls the cord and the secret of the Great and Powerful Oz is revealed?  This week we’re pulling back the curtain on Right Now Downtown.  Yes, there are some someones behind the curtain of this publication: the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District.

Capital Crossroads, which is voluntarily funded by property owners within the downtown district, performs a wide array of services all intended to improve the quality of life downtown.  Right Now Downtown is just one small part of what we do.

In November Capital Crossroads held its Annual Meeting, during which we reported on the state of the SID, made some big announcements, and presented some awards.  If you didn’t make it to the Annual Meeting, never fear.  We have our blog.

We’ve posted a ten-minute video summarizing the Annual Meeting and our accomplishments from 2009, featuring Cleve Ricksecker, Kacey Campbell and Lisa Defendiefer.

Downtown: A Year in Review from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

During the Annual Meeting we also recognize people and companies for outstanding service, for aesthetic contribution to downtown, for outstanding achievement, and our outstanding ambassador of the year.  To read about our award winners, visit our blog post.

And if you want to see more highlights from Pearl Market, the Capitol Square Kickball League and Downtown LIVE, don’t miss the rich photo galleries on Flickr.

CAPITAL CROSSROADS SID ANNUAL AWARDS

Each year at its Annual Meeting in November, Capital Crossroads recognizes people and companies in a variety of categories.  Listed below are the winners in each category, including Ambassador of the Year, Outstanding Service, Aesthetic Contribution and Outstanding Achievement.

Marissa Ingram was awarded Ambassador of the Year, for her outstanding work and her wide range of experience and skills.  As an ambassador since 2002, Ingram has served in a variety of capacities and has a detailed knowledge of downtown which makes her a valuable asset as an ambassador and as a trainer for other ambassadors.

The SID’s Award for Outstanding Aesthetic Contribution recognizes a project in the past year which adds to the beauty, street life, energy, brightness and attractiveness of downtown.    The 2009 honoree is the new restaurant, Barrio Tapas Lounge.  In addition to being a great restaurant, the project humanizes an intersection that was lifeless.  The restaurant’s windows open, allowing the energy of the restaurant to spill out onto the sidewalks; they also offer sidewalk dining.  Jeff Mathes and Sam Horner accepted the award for their outstanding aesthetic contribution.

The Outstanding Service Award recognizes the public or private sector entity that makes a significant contribution to downtown.  The first-time winner of this award is Ric Rossetti of the Public Service Department.  As the man who runs the Public Service Department permit office, he is on the front lines every time someone needs a permit to work or place something in the public right of way.  Ric handles this demanding job with patience and grace, always providing responsive and excellent customer service.

A second award for Outstanding Service in 2009 was presented to the Columbus Downtown Dog Park Association, whose four founding members, Janet Berry, Suzanne DeWoody, Mary Jane Gerhardstein and Liz Leahy, shared a passion and commitment for dogs and for downtown.  They started with a mission to establish an off-leash dog exercise area close to urban housing, and this year with support from the City, the first Downtown Columbus Dog Park opened at the corner of Fourth and Spring streets.  The group continues their work and hopes to open additional dog parks downtown.

The final award presented was that for Outstanding Achievement for an accomplishment by a property owner, city division, tenant or civic organization that deserved special recognition.  This year that accomplishment was a real home run: the Huntington Ball Park.  This wonderful facility debuted in the spring, enhancing the Arena District and drawing more visitors to that growing area of our city.  Capital Crossroads isn’t the only organization to recognize this outstanding amenity.  Baseballparks.com named Huntington Ball Park the ballpark of the year, beating out the new parks opened by both the Yankees and the Mets.  The award was presented to the Franklin County Commissioners at a meeting in early December.

Once again this fall, Capital Crossroads and Discovery Special Improvement Districts  coordinated the Toiletry Donation Drive, from October 14 – November 6.  This drive, in it’s 3rd year, is an effort to help the local downtown homeless shelters prepare for the winter months.  Homeless shelters enter a winter “overflow” mode from October through April, during which they accept all who come to their door and in turn are stretched beyond their capacity to provide a warm and safe environment for the homeless.

Through the Toiletry Donation Drive, Capital Crossroads and Discovery SIDs are able to provide much needed supplies to the downtown homeless shelters and help them get through the winter “overflow” months.  Requests were sent to the downtown workforce throughout the SID, requesting donations of unopened travel-sized toiletries, such as shampoo, conditionar, bars of soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, shaving cream and lotion, as well as packaged undergarments, such as undershirts, socks and underwear.  Donation drop boxes were set up throughout the SID, and all items will be donated to Faith Mission, Friends of the Homeless and Engagement Center at Maryhaven before Thanksgiving.

Thanks to the generosity of those living and working in both the Capital Crossroads and Discovery Special Improvement Districts, more than 260 pounds of soap, 270 pounds of shampoo, and 115 pounds of lotion, along with many other items, will be donated.  Capital Crossroads has long encouraged the generous souls of downtown to “Put Your Change Where You Can Make One”; that is, to give money and support to organizations helping the homeless rather than giving change to panhandlers downtown.  This drive is another example of a great way to facilitate change.

Our thanks to the following SID members who provided a donation drop-off location:  LeVeque Tower, Key Bank Building, Bricker & Eckler, Huntington Bank, Huntington Plaza, 85 Marconi Boulevard, 57 E. Main Street, 326 S. High Street, 22 E. Gay Street, 15 E. Gay Street, 140 E. Town Street, Capitol Square Office Tower, Lazarus Building, One Columbus, Fifth Third Center, The Columbus Dispatch, The Motorists Insurance Group, Seneca Apartments, Midland Building, OEA, and State Auto.

APP-ATTACK

These days, there’s an “app” to organize your parties, and an “app” to pay your bills.  There’s even an “app” to help you walk your dog.

Downtown Columbus has a FREE application that works with ANY phone… and this app can run a power washer, remove graffiti and provide you with a safety escort.

Simply dial 614.228.5718 and connect to a Clean and Safe Ambassador.  Our Ambassadors (better known as the “team-in-green”) are ready to help you solve all kinds of problems.  You might see them on the streets picking up litter.  You might also see them working with an outreach team to help a homeless person.  You’ll see them doing lots of things – but you won’t ever see them standing still.

While this “app” works from any sort of phone, you can also connect to our Ambassadors online.  Just go to our homepage at downtowncolumbus.com and click on the grey bar in the upper right-hand corner.  It’ll take you straight to our online Service Request Form.

Best yet, this “app” is a neighborhood exclusive; you won’t find the team-in-green any other place in town.  Working together, downtown keeps getting better and better.

To learn more about the “green team” and Capital Crossroads, join us for our 2009 Annual Meeting on Wednesday, November 18 at 4pm in the Atrium at the Statehouse. It’s open and free to the public!