Scaling up downtown walking tours Downtown walking tours are a popular way to connect locals and non-locals with all that downtown has to offer. The Downtown Alliance, which manages Lower Manhattan’s business improvement district, created a Walking Tour Incubator Grant Program to spur the development of creative new tours and support budding tour operators. The…To read more — login/subscribe
When Jason Duff was growing up in Bellefontaine, OH (est. pop. 13,574), his family owned a Hallmark card store downtown. The city center was thriving, and Duff recalls fond memories of working in his parents’ shop and learning to tie a necktie at the men’s clothing store downtown. But in the 1990s and the first…To read more — login/subscribe
Welcome back to work Working downtown has many benefits and in Milwaukee, WI, this includes the annual Downtown Employee Appreciation Week. The event includes something for everyone from morning meditation and lunchtime giveaways to music and office challenge games. In 2020 most of the events were virtual, but downtown workers and the event will be…To read more — login/subscribe
Events spread out, take over streets Downtown event planners took a number of steps to ensure that summer and fall events were appropriately sized and not overly crowded. Among the strategies: Events are being scaled back and spread out across city streets and over multiple days. • The annual A Taste of Colorado food festival…To read more — login/subscribe
The City of Round Rock, TX, the Greater Round Rock Community Foundation, the Round Rock Chamber and Dell Technologies announced a new collaboration to assist local small businesses impacted by the coronavirus. Each organization has committed $25,000 to establish the Round Rock Cares fund. The fund also received over $4,000 in public support within its…To read more — login/subscribe
With many small cities struggling to lure skilled workers, a few downtowns are trying something new: They're offering to help people pay down their college loans if they move to town. Hamilton, OH (est. pop. 62,216), last year launched a Talent Attraction Program that offers up to $10,000 to workers who earned college degrees within…To read more — login/subscribe
The 37-story office building at 100 N. Main St. in Memphis, TN (est. pop. 651,088), is a reminder of both downtown’s promise and its challenges. The tower is the tallest structure in the downtown skyline. Yet it has sat empty since 2014. Thieves have harvested the copper wiring. And vandals have knocked books from the…To read more — login/subscribe
In downtown Little Rock, AR (est. pop. 197,868), the Interstate 30 bridge across the Arkansas River grows congested at every rush hour. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department responded with a predictable solution: It has embarked on a massive widening of the roadway from six lanes to 12 lanes. The bridge connects downtown Little Rock…To read more — login/subscribe
The coronavirus recession devastated downtown retailers. But some intrepid merchants survived — and their success stories offer hints at how small businesses can bounce back and thrive in the future. Retail expert Jon Schallert says creative merchants figured out a number of ways to stand out from the crowd. He offered these suggestions — which…To read more — login/subscribe
The cost of overstaying a meter is on the rise. In Chicago, a parking ticket costs $60. In Los Angeles, it’s $73. San Francisco exacts a fee of $83. And in Phoenix — an otherwise car-friendly city that charges some of the steepest rates — overstaying a meter will set you back $84. Motorists and…To read more — login/subscribe
