The 9th annual SocialICE was held on Peace Plaza in downtown Rochester, MN, in February. The three day event lures people outside for “an icy experience fit for true Minnesotans.” The highlight of the event is seven uniquely themed ice bars each serving a signature drink. In an effort to make downtown events more appealing…To read more — login/subscribe
The Mpls Downtown Improvement District has launched an ambitious program to improve access to public restrooms. Called the 100 Restrooms Project, the initiative is a partnership of the DID and the City of Minneapolis. The project grew from community input, a detailed assessment, and a pilot project called Little Free Lavatory. For more on increasing…To read more — login/subscribe
Battle Creek, MI (est. pop. 51,505), is using generous incentives to attract tenants to its downtown district. Battle Creek Unlimited Inc. offers subsidies of as much as $200,000 to breweries and restaurants. New Holland Brewing Co. landed the first incentive; it used the money toward a $1 million renovation of an 18,000-square-foot building. The total…To read more — login/subscribe
Wiscasset, ME (est. pop. 1,092), undertook a sweeping redesign of Main Street that includes widening sidewalks, adding lighting, installing bollards, renovating sidewalks, improving drainage, and redesigning parking. Such an ambitious project meant a lot of construction headaches. To help local leaders around the state minimize the impact of such projects, MaineDOT developed Digging Maine, a…To read more — login/subscribe
Food and drink are key parts of any thriving downtown. The addition of outdoor dining brings added benefits for individual businesses and the downtown as a whole. Still, there’s no shortage of objections to sidewalk dining — there’s worry about loss of on-street parking spaces and sidewalk space, concerns surrounding regulations for short term uses,…To read more — login/subscribe
Little Haddonfield, NJ (est. pop. 11,428), was founded in the 18th century, and the downtown’s vibe harkens back to the early 20th century. “It’s like a Norman Rockwell painting,” says Susan Adelizzi-Schmidt of Suasion Communications Group, downtown Haddonfield’s public relations firm. But historic Haddonfield has turned to a decidedly postmodern way to market its downtown:…To read more — login/subscribe
Stockton, CA (est. pop. 310,476), has endured its share of struggles. The city filed for bankruptcy in the aftermath of the Great Recession, and its poverty rate of more than 19 percent is far above the state average. But downtown Stockton is on the mend, and its downtown is gaining momentum thanks to an unlikely…To read more — login/subscribe
A sun-roasted, unwelcoming stretch of sidewalk in downtown West Palm Beach, FL (est. pop. 110,219), is scheduled to get a “Shade Parade” made of six moving purple parasols. The city hired Montreal design firm Daily tous les jours to brainstorm ideas about a section of Quadrille Boulevard. The proposal: A system of aluminum umbrellas that…To read more — login/subscribe
Frank LaTorre remembers when the price tag for the Providence River Pedestrian Bridge was just $3 million. It was back in the 1990s, and the idea was to turn the Route 195 span over the Providence River into a walkway connecting the urban core. By the time the project was finally completed this summer, the…To read more — login/subscribe
