Mayor Buddy Dyer’s State of Downtown 2007 Fact Sheet

Main Street Program

“A City can only be great if it has a great downtown. A City can only have a great downtown if it has great neighborhoods.”

• Building on the success of the success of the Downtown revitalization, the Main Street Program utilizes training, technical assistance and staff support to achieve successful urban commercial districts in our neighborhoods
• Orlando Main Street will be the first official Citywide Urban Main Street Program in the Southeast
• The Main Street name has a strong national recognition and is considered one of the best economic development programs in the country
• The Boston Main Street Program was established in 1995 and has accomplished the following:
    - 540 Net New Businesses
    - 3,645 Net New Jobs
    - 149,119 Volunteer Hours Invested
    - 443 Storefront Improvement Projects
    - 591 Businesses Received Design Assistance
    - $1,258,469 in Physical Improvement Grants
    - $9,193,184 in Private Investment Leveraged by Grants
• Mayor Dyer will bring the official Main Street agreement before the City Council this fall.

• Districts will receive funding from the City of Orlando for a 5-year period. Funding will require a match and will be organized as:
  
  Year 1-$50,000-City of Orlando-$10,000-District
  Year 2-$45,000-City of Orlando-$15,000-District
  Year 3-$40,000-City of Orlando-$20,000-District
  Year 4-$35,000-City of Orlando-$25,000-District
  Year 5-$30,000-City of Orlando-$30,000-District
• In Year 6, Districts that have put a Neighborhood Improvement District (NID) in place to ensure sustainable funding will continue to receive $30,000/year for four additional years.

“These are police on the street who will make a personal connection with the folks who live, work and visit downtown.”

• Downtown Patrol District to the central core

• Dayshift – 1 sergeant, 11 officers
• Midnight shift – 2 sergeants, 20 officers

• Parramore Heritage Unit

• One sergeant and eight officers
• Along with “first responder” and community policing activities such as youth involvement, residential, neighborhood and business liaisons, officers assigned to this area can also assist the TAC units with investigation and apprehension of violent criminals

• Funding for the Downtown Patrol District and bike units are included in “year-2” budget of the multi-year Public Safety Initiative (FY 07/08, effective October 1, 2007)

Ambassador Program

“Programs like this have been a staple of resurging downtowns across the country like San Diego, Nashville and Charlotte.”

• Modeled after similar programs around the country, the Ambassadors will provide comprehensive information about Downtown Orlando’s eating, shopping and entertainment options, elevating the Downtown experience
• The Ambassadors will patrol Amelia Street to the North, Summerlin Avenue to the East, Anderson Street to the South, and Parramore Avenue to the West
• The City is partnering with Highwoods Properties to open the Downtown Information Center located in Regions Plaza (201 S. Orange Ave) as the base for the Ambassadors
• In November, the Downtown Information Center will open and the Ambassadors will hit the streets
• This public-private partnership has attracted the interest of many of Downtown’s biggest businesses and property owners, who have indicated a willingness to contribute to the program. The City has a backstop of $893,000 to support private contributions
  
   

House of Moves

“Downtown Orlando aims to be the “high tech home” for film and digital media.”

• This winter House of Moves will open the only professional Motion Capture sound stage on the East Coast with fully integrated film, video and audio facilities
• With film credits including Polar Express, Spiderman II and Titanic, House of Moves is a cornerstone project for the Downtown Orlando Creative Village
• Through a partnership with UCF, over a three-year period the City will contribute $1,000,000 and UCF will contribute another $1,000,000 for the build out

Green Works Orlando
“We’re implementing a plan to encourage all downtown buildings to be environomentally-friendly.”

• An environmental action agenda designed to transform Orlando into one of the most environmentally-conscious cities in America. In order to achieve this ambitious goal the City has developed five pillars and initiatives within the pillars.

• Energy Efficiencies and Green Buildings
  • Design all new City buildings to comply with LEED standards
  • Develop a comprehensive Green Building Program
• Transportation
  • Transition the entire City fleet to bio-diesel and other alternative fuels within the next 5 years
  • Convert every stop light and pedestrian signal to LED technology
• Sustainable Infrastructure and Conservation
  • Create green office standards
  • Pilot test a green power reactor which will utilize waster water sludge to create renewable resource energy
• Green Spaces
  • Restore City tree canopy with five year 10,000 Trees Initiative
  • Implement community gardens
• Advocacy and Education
  • Sign the US Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement
  • ncrease awareness by educating, encouraging and empowering employees, residents and business owners