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Special improvement district proposed for downtown

Map of possible Special Improvement District

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Downtown effort proposed to improve safety, cleanliness

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By Samantha Sommer, Staff Writer Updated 8:58 AM Monday, March 15, 2010

SPRINGFIELD — Tom Franzen understands that the current economy is a concern for property owners.

So it might not seem like the best time to ask downtown property owners to create a new support group and tax themselves to fund it.

Franzen, the city’s economic development administrator and a Center City Association board member, also sees that it could be a missed opportunity if a special improvement district isn’t pursued for downtown.

“Now is the time to try to get these things in place because now is the time that people are becoming interested in investing in downtown,” he said.

The Center City Association, a group committed to downtown revitalization, is proposing a special improvement district to bring together property owners in a designated area who agree to tax themselves. The money would go to projects and services that are above and beyond what the city provides.

Some extra services being eyed include additional cleaning, security, marketing and streetscapes.

Those services make people feel more comfortable downtown, and in turn, they would come there more often and stay longer, said Maureen Fagans, Center City’s executive director.

The association will talk about its proposal at the city commission meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 16, and again at its annual meeting on March 24.

“This could really be the right answer for downtown,” Fagans said. “It’s so critically important that we have these kinds of things in place. It’s a piece of the puzzle.”

Several cities — including Dayton, Columbus and Toledo — have the special improvement districts.

Toledo formed its 38-block district about four years ago, generating more than $500,000 a year. Sixty to 70 percent of that goes to a clean-and-safe program, which has staff pick up trash, keep an eye out and distribute information about restaurants and hotels, said Bill Thomas, executive director of the Downtown Toledo Improvement District.

“That really polishes the apple downtown,” he said.

»Safety, cleanliness top concerns Article on A3

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