way of creating a thriving downtown. I wanted to start a different
thread so I could put out some of thoughts about this.
For folks who don't know, there have been a couple major trends that
have occurred that have really brought downtowns back from their
run-down state in the 1960's and 1970's.
One trend is the one that Tony Scallon advocates - large scale
investment in downtowns by government. In Minneapolis, we can think
of this in two major ways - TIF and public facilities. TIF is when we
let private development keep their tax revenues and recycle them back
into their project. In this way, the government subsidizes the private
project. Most of the Minneapolis skyline was built with substantial
public investment in this manner. Public facilities are when
government just directly pays for something - the Metrodome, Target
Center and the Convention Convention Center as the major investments.
St Paul got the Children's Theater, the Ordway and the Science Museum.
But another trend occurred. If public facilities and TIF were about
hitting home runs, there was a small ball game also. Business
improvement districts (BIDs) were started in the US in New Orleans in
1975. BIDs were originally created to let downtowns have the same
advantages as a private mall - cleaning of public spaces, heightened
security, promotion, active management of public spaces, strategic
business recruitment and many other activities. BIDs meant that some
body, some "body" was in charge of a downtown. This focusing on the
fundamentals has really been behind the downtown renaissance.
So if you were to ask me what I think the best way of creating a vital
downtown is, I think first and foremost it is an active business
improvement district doing all the little things that it takes to make
a space great. I don't know that the large public facilities, in the
end have much of an impact. When I go to a stadium, I park, I go in
and then I go back to my car. I don't go anywhere else. I don't think
that brings vitality. Real vitality is the small stuff that exists
without great public investment. So to answer Tony's challenge, it is
BIDs that I think we need to focus on in this city. And not just for
the downtown but for all our commercial areas. Milwaukee, for
example, has 25 and its commercial areas are doing better than ours. I
think for today, small ball economic development is where we need to
focus.
Carol Becker
Longfellow