Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
The nonprofit that serves as a main advocate for Boston’s downtown and downtown businesses is changing up its name as it rolls out its latest economic development initiative.
The Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, or Downtown BID for short, will be known going forward as the Downtown Boston Alliance, the group announced Thursday.
The new name reflects its aim to make downtown into “an inclusive and engaged experience for everyone” beyond just the business community, the group said.
“Our new name aligns better with our ambitious agenda of developing a post-pandemic Downtown neighborhood that reflects the innovative energy and equitable economic opportunity of the Boston of today and tomorrow,” Downtown BID President Michael J. Nichols said in a statement. “Downtown Boston advocates are truly an Alliance of like-minded people dedicated to making the area a destination that’s both inviting and accessible to residents, business owners, tourists, and shoppers alike.”
The name change comes as downtown prepares to enter another year of struggles that have their roots in the COVID-19 pandemic. Foot traffic has very nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and Boston leads the nation in the pace of office workers returning to their desks. Those data points are only relative successes, however. Office workers are still in short supply downtown, with the neighborhood facing an 18.9 percent vacancy rate in the third quarter according to Cushman & Wakefield research, with another 460 basis points’ worth of space available for lease – either as sublease space or space a tenant plans to vacate – Colliers reports.
The Downtown Boston Alliance’s new logo.
The Downtown Boston Alliance launched a $2 million economic development effort last fall, called “Level Up Downtown,” that sought to bring in more retailers and create a number of new events, like block parties and buzzy public art. In its announcement of the name change, the Downtown Boston Alliance claimed the effort increased foot traffic each month and brought “millions” of visitors downtown over the last year. In addition, city officials partnered with the then-BID to pump millions in leftover federal pandemic dollars into aid into existing Boston small businesses, to help them set up branches downtown in the hopes of drawing shoppers in from the city’s residential neighborhoods.
“Level Up Downtown” will continue next year, the Downtown Boston Alliance said, with another five new businesses recruited via its partnership with the city. In addition, it plans to host a real estate industry summit aimed at “accelerating property development and tenant diversity” downtown, commission a “visioning study” to transform Winter Street in the Downtown Crossing area, host pop-up events in the area and plus up its holiday and other seasonal programming.
