neighborhood plan – Page 2 – Alliance for Pioneer Square

Update to the Neighborhood – January 2014

Happy New Year. Hope you had a lovely holiday season and are ready to get back to it.

The Alliance staff and boards are looking forward to a very busy year. In addition to our on-going work in neighborhood advocacy, marketing and promotion, and recruiting even more retail and restaurants we will be launching some additional initiatives.

We will be updating the neighborhood revitalization plan. The neighborhood has delivered on its revitalization commitments from the prior plan and an update will be a great way to take stock, inform and include more people in a vision and shared set of strategies for maintaining our momentum. We are committed to Pioneer Square being a fabulous neighborhood for everyone.

The newly expanded BIA has an interim board in place but that too will be expanding; ensuring inclusive and broad representation of our diverse businesses in Pioneer Square. We anticipate electing the permanent board during the 1^st quarter of 2014. Please let me know if you would like to participate.

We will be adding new staff positions: 1) a person to do B2B outreach, specifically focused on the subsidized parking program and managing our parking supply to ensure parking for shoppers, diners, and clients and 2) a person to coordinate and communicate across the various construction projects in the neighborhood and take on the work of improving the pedestrian realm.

We anticipate continuing our critical work to improve street disorder and safety with the new administration, working towards humane solutions that work are critical to the future of Pioneer Square and all of downtown.

Stay tuned, there will be many opportunities to become informed and involved. Thanks for your support and see you in the neighborhood.

Leslie Smith

Executive Director

Annual Update to Neighborhood Stakeholders with Mayor Mike McGinn

On March 18, 2013 at HUB Seattle, the Alliance for Pioneer Square led a public discussion with Mayor Mike McGinn about current neighborhood conditions. Since the Pioneer Square Commercial District Revitalization Project started in 2010, the mayor has updated neighborhood stakeholders once a year. See below for highlights about the public meeting and click here to download the latest report.

The New Pioneer Square – “Pioneer Square Revitalization 2013 Update”

Office of Economic Development’s Bottom Line – “Pioneer Square Revitalization 2013 Update”

Department of Planning and Development’s Building Connections – “Pioneer Square Economic Development Report”

In 2009, members of the Pioneer Square business community met over six months to discuss priorities and actions needed to create a vibrant and robust commercial business district. The document that came out of that stakeholder process was the Pioneer Square 2015 Neighborhood Plan. The Alliance for Pioneer Square launched in June 2010 to lead implementation of the Neighborhood Plan, which outlines a set of actionable Community and City strategies to address key issues in the neighborhood. See the Office of Economic Development’s page for more on the Pioneer Square Commercial District Revitalization Initiative process.

Update to the Neighborhood – March 2013

Two Things this Month

Changes to the Pioneer Square BIA

A goal critical to the future of the Alliance and the neighborhood… aligning the Pioneer Square BIA with the Historic District boundary was originally articulated in the Pioneer Square 2015 neighborhood plan. After many months of work the BIA Ratepayer Board and the Alliance for Pioneer Square are ready to make this happen. Comprehensive outreach for petition signing will begin in the next few weeks with a goal of having an expanded BIA in place in January of 2014.

Interested in learning the details and impact on your business? Interested in hosting a gathering for neighboring businesses or helping in other ways? Please contact leslie[at]pioneersquare.org.

Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) are special assessment districts, or “self help mechanisms” whereby business owners choose to assess themselves to revitalize and enhance neighborhood business districts. The oldest BIA within the City of Seattle, the Pioneer Square BIA was formed as a local business community effort to remain competitive in the marketplace. The legal authority for the establishment and management of BIAs is set forth in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Chapter 35.87A and Seattle City Ordinance 111244.

Annual Update to Stakeholders

Mark your calendar for Monday, March 18^th 4:30 to 6:30 pm at HubSeattle, 220 2nd Ave South, (Masin’s Furniture Building). Want to know more about what is going on? Want to talk to the Mayor or other city officials about Pioneer Square?

You are invited to join Mayor Mike McGinn and the Alliance for Pioneer Square for an update to the neighborhood. Please plan on attending the open house to learn about the numerous projects going on around the neighborhood and hear about progress on goals to date.

Hope to see you there!

P.S. While reservations are not required, for planning purposes would you let us know if you will be attending? Email to RSVP.

Leslie Smith

Executive Director

Alliance for Pioneer Square