The Pioneer Square Commercial District Revitalization Project is an initiative to improve the overall business health of Pioneer Square.
The City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, and the Office of Economic Development are currently working with the Pioneer Square business community to identify how the city can reestablish the neighborhood’s competitiveness and strengthen the health of its businesses.
The latest update of the full report finalized by the Pioneer Square Revitalization Committee was published early last month, March 2013. Check out the most recent publication “Pioneer Square 2015: A Strategy for Seattle’s First Neighborhood.”
Here are some highlights of the report:
The Office of Economic Development (OED) awarded Only in Seattle initiative grants to the Alliance for Pioneer Square (the Alliance) to fund implementation of all elements in this Action Plan, including organizational development, marketing and promotion, appearance and pedestrian environment, business and retail development, and safety and civility. The Alliance received $100,000 in 2011, $120,000 in 2012, and will receive $100,000 in 2013.
In 2013, the Alliance is also receiving an Only in Seattle “City Infrastructure” award that will provide $80,000 in improvements to the pedestrian environment including: expand holiday lighting south of Kind Street, restripe crosswalks, trim 1st Avenue median trees, and install signature bike racks.
Using OED’s funding, the Alliance has developed and executed an aggressive retail attraction strategy, which helped to attract and support development of a number of new businesses and restaurants to Pioneer Square including Matt Dillon’s Bar Sajor, London Plane and Indigene, E. Smith Mercantile, Gaba Sushi, Il Corvo Pasta, Rain Shadow Meats Squared, Tinello, and The Lodge. OED provided consulting support in 2012 and 2013 for the Alliance to evaluate its Business Improvement Area assessment and boundaries to increase the sustainability of the Action Plan work.
Check out The New Pioneer Square blog and the City’s Pioneer Square Commercial District Revitalization Project webapage for more details on the 2013 update of priorities and what has been accomplished in the last year, as well as previously published reports.
