Work Downtown

Downtown Business Alliance:

The Downtown Business Alliance (DBA) is a committee of the Center City Association and is open to all downtown businesses and organizations. The DBA provides educational, promotional and networking opportunities at monthly meetings, which are held at 8:00am on the third Thursday of the month in the Bushnell Banquet Center. Please call 937-327-7312 for more information.

Clean and Safe Program:

A new twist on past cleanliness projects was implemented this year with the hope of expanding and continuing in 2010. OIC provided youth who were ready to work for the summer and CCA provided the downtown Ambassador Program. The OIC/CCA Ambassador program used a 3-point approach with students to provide a clean and safe program on downtown streets. Our students have daily work details around the city cleaning up trash, sweeping sidewalks, pulling weeds and mulching garden beds. They have also learned basic business etiquette and basic job readiness skills. Finally they have been in the downtown introducing themselves to business owners and explaining what they are doing outside their doors. The public response has been very positive and another team of students is coming to supplement the work the first team is doing through the end of the summer.

We get one chance to make a good first impression and with that in mind Center City Association is working toward implementing a year-round professional Clean and Safe program in 2010. This program is designed to address cleanliness projects on a regular schedule, including power washing sidewalks, picking up trash and cleaning up graffiti. The Safety program will limit loitering and vagrancy, alert police of problem situations, patrol parking lots to stop vandalism and provide escorts as needed.

Facade Improvement Grants:

The Center City Facade Improvement Grant program awarded a $10,000 grant to Garrigan's Office Plus in June 2009 in support of the great renovation work being completed in their new downtown relocation. Garrigan's renovated a 1950's Art Moderne building from top to bottom. They also eliminated the majority of the asphalt parking, replacing it with landscaped green space. Center City is proud to support the efforts of businesses that make the commitment to the revitalization of downtown Springfield.

New Linear Park: Center City Association is involved in the planning and design of the new linear park taking shape in the downtown. The park is a direct outcome of the R/UDAT report. The first phase of the park is now being designed. Center City Association's role is to ensure that the park will maximize pedestrian accessibility and enhance existing and future business accessibility.

Streetscapes II:

Center City Association remains a Heritage Ohio Main Street Community. A recent benefit of membership was the award of a competitive $25,000 Streetscapes Grant to be used for benches and trash receptacles in conjunction with the Fountain Avenue Streetscapes II project.
R/UDAT: The Center City Association invited members of the American Institute of Architect's Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT) to study Center City Springfield. A team of professionals from across the country visited the city to assess its strengths and challenges and to recommend a downtown revitalization plan. Although the reasons for revitalizing any city's downtown may seem evident, the challenges facing Springfield are real and typical of many cities. Citizens in Springfield have proven their commitment to their downtown through the Springfield Center City Association's decision to host R/UDAT. Please view the findings of this assessment here.

Other Priorities:

Center City Association believes we get one opportunity to make a good first impression, and is researching other initiatives that create the sense of place that is attractive to customers, businesses and developers. Traffic patterns, convenient parking and market analysis are all identified priorities for achieving economic sustainability in downtown Springfield.