New City Standard

Copyright Pending (c) 2024

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There is no specific criteria for District Management. While many find success devising their own Board and Committee structure, others operate without a functional model of operations. District Management Corporations must have a strong, unified Board and a dedicated, knowledgeable staff to achieve results on a neighborhood-wide level.

Presented for the first time publicly, this is our five-part model to ensure that stakeholders and communities receive the benefits promised from previously approved property assessment districts.  These five points can be applied anywhere in the country, from large city Downtowns, business districts, to small towns, Main Streets, etc.

Protecting and Managing the “Place”

An identifiable place with name recognition is key to success. Places can be newly constructed, historic, and/or be undergoing re-invention.  The key point in “place” emphasizes content and form.  The form of an older community typically has historic buildings, a traditional street grid, wide sidewalks, and original historic streetlights. Therefore, the form is old, but is intact and easy to build upon.  What makes the “form” work is the new content, including housing, ground floor commercial, and most importantly, a growing workforce with new employment options.  The “Place” is the first element that determines if a community or Downtown has potential.

Creating Sustainable District Based Revenues

Many local or community groups that seek ongoing improvements must use the “tin cup” model of fundraising, in which efforts to raise money for events or neighborhood activities rely upon the voluntary, goodwill efforts of the businesses or community. In these scenarios, most people may not be able to afford to pay, or opt out of contributing, therefore hindering the ability to have popular events or services for the community – though they may derive great benefits from the resulting service or activity. We have found that property assessments and parking meter revenues, coupled with grants, can create sustainable revenues stream to fund:

• Sidewalk cleaning and maintenance services

• Security & sidewalk patrols

• Sidewalk beautification

• Public Space conception, development, financing, and management

• Promotion and public relations and Social Media

• Event management

• Advocacy for capital Improvements within the community

• Tree planting and ornamental landscaping

• Historic preservation

• Responding to the growing needs of our unhoused and mentally ill population, using demonstrable, “best practice” methods

The purpose of sustainable revenues is to ensure that projects and programs envisioned by the stakeholders are funded, improved upon, and maintained for the entirety of the community. The only way to enhance the “Place” is through sustainable and ongoing revenues.

Creating an Entrepreneurial Public Benefit Corporation

Once the place has been identified, and the sustainable revenues have been created, the goal is then to create a transparent, results-oriented Board of Directors to manage the District, community, or neighborhood. This effort will reinforce the concept of the citizens creating the physical and social infrastructure for their district to thrive.

Through the establishment of a new public-benefit, non-profit corporation in the form of a 501c3, this new group will serve as the “vehicle” operating on the “fuel” provided from the property assessment district, parking meter revenues, sales tax increments, public and private foundation grants, and other entrepreneurial activities which supplement the annual revenues of the base funding.  What we normally observe are management groups who are consistently struggling to meet District and neighborhood needs.  The formula that has worked well for us is to have:

• A strong DMC Board and strong DMC staff. Many organizations don’t have both and one entity can overwhelm the other, creating a lack of balance.

• A strong and open standing Board Committees that feed vital information to the Boards, which in turn utilize that advice, adopt recommendations, and instruct staff to implement the decisions. New City America, based on its experience in forming nearly 100 BIDs and CBDs, has created an effective and efficient organizational standard of establishing results-oriented Committees that can simplify and expedite decision-making.

• A Board to leverage the assets of both the corporation and community to prioritize projects based on immediate need and growth.

• A Board that initiates discussions with local and statewide leaders to adopt legislation and ordinances that promote district-centered revenue opportunities to improve the district.

• A Board that posts all of the finances, minutes, and activities of the District Management Corporation on its website to ensure transparency.

Politics and Timing

Politics and timing are crucial to the initiation as well as the success of any effort to improve one’s community or district. Though a business district, Downtown or community might have a troubled relationship with their specific, local representative, our experience has shown that this is not the case in every District.  The ultimate decision maker in any local body is the majority of the local body itself.  If community or district members are genuinely trying to improve their community in concrete ways, a Mayor or City Manager will see that effort and take steps to ensure its success. 

Bolstering the previous articulation of New City America’s view on the current economic and political climate in this country, our ability to achieve great success has widely rested on the relationships we’ve made through demonstrable projects that improve a community or district, further ensuring that the non-profit corporation is not burdened by a poor decision making process, conflict of interest, or self-serving Board members.

Managing the Assets

Over the past two decades working in nearly 100 communities and districts, we have learned a few things about managing a successful District.

• For a successful district or community, you need to create a situation where you “Read the blocks by its corners.” People in any neighborhood or Downtown will stop at any block where they see activity and/or beautification at the corner, at which point the attractiveness of  that block will ultimately determine whether someone will walk fast, walk slow, or will stop to patronize the businesses within that block.  We have spent a lot of time and energy understanding this reality and focusing on such intersections.

• As new development takes over parking lots or older, non-historic buildings within a district, we have been very successful in working with these developers, whether they be corporate or local, to allocate sidewalk space on their periphery to provide for a new, public spaces, usually between 500 – 1,000 square feet, with the understanding that once their project is completed, the district management corporation will provide movable tables, chairs, and umbrellas for the general public to enjoy. This type of partnership can change a district or community rapidly.

• Well-managed and attractive spaces tended to by the local District Management Corporation employees can become the equivalent of new retail space. Attractive public spaces allow people, who might have shopped or eaten within the community, to simply sit, rest, and people watch.  The longer amount of time spent in the District, the higher probability the person or group of people will patronize one of the establishments within said District.

• New improvements initiated by, funded by, and managed by the District Management Corporation can create a sense of livability and sustainability in any community or district. Sustainability equals stability and shows the general public that some entity is managing the public rights of way, thereby creating a safe environment.

• Through our work since the 1990s, we have discovered that most people walk roughly 4 feet per second on a sidewalk in a Downtown environment. If there are empty buildings, graffiti/vandalism, and no landscaping to attract patronage, people will, in fact, walk faster to get out of the area. The goal of District Management Corporations should be to slow people down enough for them to stop and see which products, services, or food items are being offered, in turn, encouraging more shopping in that district.

• Following World War 2, we lost the concept of mixed-use development and creating focal points for the community. Through our work, New City America and its affiliate, New City Public Spaces, has strategized to create a sense of place by rebuilding the “town center”.  This can be done through landmark signs designating one are as the central hub of the community, as well as gateway signs and branding on all public amenities so people know where they are, thereby creating a neighborhood’s brand identity that can be carried through even after leaving.