The Denver
Office of Economic Development (OED) today launched a new initiative, aimed at strengthening business districts and their surrounding neighborhoods citywide. Denver's Mayor, City Council members and community and business leaders celebrated the launch of the
Denver Neighborhood Marketplace Initiative (DNMI) on May 1st.
“Neighborhood Marketplace will capitalize on Denver’s strong small-business culture and abundant entrepreneurial spirit to drive business growth and investment in our neighborhoods,”
Mayor John Hickenlooper said. “When neighborhood businesses succeed, surrounding communities flourish – with local retail, services and jobs.”
The initiative’s goals are to
foster capacity building for the City’s many diverse neighborhood marketplaces, develop
stronger public-private partnerships and build long-lasting relationships that
connect neighborhoods with businesses. Through the initiative OED will annually select 2–5 districts for participation. Together with OED, each district will develop a long-term district development plan that outlines the district’s goals, work plan and benchmarks to gauge the district’s progress.
“When neighborhood businesses work cooperatively together, they’re better poised for success,” said
OED Executive Director Andre Pettigrew. “In Denver, this is evident through a number of successful business improvement districts, local maintenance districts and other formal and informal networks of geographically-concentrated businesses. DNMI is all about
helping business districts succeed, at every level.”
The initiative seeks to address each
district’s unique context, market dynamics and physical characteristics. District development plans will outline which resources — ranging from technical assistance, to small business lending, streetscape improvements and many others — can be deployed to effect meaningful change in the district. Availability of resources will vary, depending on the district’s stage of development. District development plans will be implemented and reviewed annually.
“Ultimately, our goal is to work closely with each of these districts so that after three to seven years they advance and continue to progress in becoming a thriving and
sustainable neighborhood asset.” said Pettigrew. “We’re looking for a commitment to establish private sector funding that continues to promote the district and its needs.”
OED has selected the following pilot districts for the initiative:
OED’s selection of pilot districts was based on many factors, including the district’s evidence of leadership, community investment, ability to leverage resources and neighborhood engagement. The districts represent a range of development stages, from challenged to thriving.
Beginning in 2009, a citywide competitive process will be initiated by OED, inviting neighborhood business districts to submit an application for inclusion in DNMI. Districts will be selected based upon their ability to articulate goals and demonstrate committed private-sector leadership.
DNMI was developed based on input from more than 200 stakeholders, including the Mayor and City Council, business and property owners, real estate professionals and representatives from business and community development organizations. OED conducted a review of current tools and plans and researched
best practices from other cities actively supporting neighborhood business district programs.
For more information about the initiative, visit
www.milehigh.com or call 720-913-1999.
Information is also available through the
Denver Business Assistance Center, located in the atrium of the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building, 201 W. Colfax Ave.