June 2008
1. PPI
Officer Saves a Life
2. Make It A Clean & Safe Summer
3. Downtown Business Census shows Portland
business growing
4. Central City Development and Redevelopment
Projects Report released
5. Clean & Safe May statistics
6. West Side Community Court
7. Sidewalk Ambassadors assist with Tri-Met,
Rose Festival celebrations
8. New Avenues for Youth staff visits Downtown
Retail Council Meeting
9. Real Change parking meter makeover
10. New, exclusive retail stores open in Downtown
11. Downtown Retail Advocate Represents
Portland at Conference in Las Vegas
12. Retail in the press
13. Urban renewal planning in progress
1.
PPI Officer Saves a Life
 As
Rose Festival visitors celebrated in downtown Portland and
prepared for the Starlight Parade on May 31, PPI Patrol Officer
Ronald Cash gave one lucky man another reason to celebrate
- his life had been saved.
"I didn't
want him to die," Cash said. "I thought I could help, and
that's what I wanted to stay focused on."
A concerned
citizen alerted Cash that a man was lying unconscious in the
middle of W. Burnside Street. Cash, on mountain bike patrol,
rushed to the scene where he used his bicycle as a barrier
to close the lane of traffic. He then began CPR on the man,
who was not breathing, and continued until an ambulance arrived.
A retired
police officer and soldier, Cash served his country for more
than 37 years before joining the PPI patrol and is no stranger
to saving lives. However, before the Saturday incident, he
hadn't performed CPR in years. He credits a woman with a medical
background and a supportive Portland police officer for both
assisting him during the crisis.
"I'm a
Vietnam vet and know that's what Americans do - we help each
other," he said.
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2.
Make It A Clean & Safe Summer
In May,
Clean & Safe and Central Precinct bicycle officers began focusing
on managing downtown livability issues as the weather becomes
more pleasant. Central Precinct ran missions focusing on criminal
behavior in the downtown area, and will continue addressing
order maintenance violations as the weather changes.
Central
Precinct Commander Mike Reese recently formed an Entertainment
District Detail to work with Clean & Safe, PDC, Saturday Market
and surrounding establishments to ensure a safe night out
for patrons of clubs in Old Town, particularly on weekends.
Heavy traffic as well as fights have become significant issues
for the area, and extra security patrols have been assigned
to help address these and other illegal activities. Police
have also increased their presence in the area after midnight.
On May
1, a Clean & Safe officer on patrol observed two subjects
pouring laundry detergent into the Ira Keller Fountain. Both
were detained and subsequently arrested. The two were also
given park exclusions and are awaiting trial, as damage to
the fountain was estimated at more than $600. City Commissioner
Randy Leonard offered his personal thanks for the great work
of Clean & Safe in making this case.
Livability
and a safe community are our number one priorities, so please
contact Clean & Safe security at 503.224.7383 to report inappropriate
conduct occurring near your business or residence, and call
911 to report illegal activity.
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3.
Downtown Business Census shows Portland business growing
The number
of businesses and jobs in downtown Portland continues to grow,
according to the seventh annual Downtown Business Census and
Survey conducted by the Portland Business Alliance on behalf
of Portland Downtown Services, Inc. (PDSI). The census and
survey serves as a sophisticated resource for prospective
downtown tenants and developers, establishing benchmarks and
providing year-to-year tracking of leading economic indicators
and progress toward downtown development goals. It also provides
a better understanding of the needs of existing downtown businesses.
According
to survey results, a net of 36 more businesses opened their
doors in 2007, increasing the total number of downtown enterprises
to 4,198. Downtown employment also increased by 1,434, with
the total number of workers at 86,131. Similar to last year,
the census also found that 59 percent of business owners felt
that their business improved. Additionally, 34 percent of
the companies plan to expand in the next two years. The survey
also found that 97 percent of workers feel that downtown is
safe, with 23 percent feeling that downtown is 'very safe,'
up 8 percentage points from last year. Furthermore, the impact
of panhandling declined four percentage points in 2007 and
slipped from the number one issue to number two in the list
of factors that need improvement; construction now takes the
top spot.
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4.
Central City Development and Redevelopment Projects Report
released
Alliance
market research staff and Heritage Consulting Group recently
released the annual Central City Development and Redevelopment
Projects report. The report provides a comprehensive look
at real estate development in the Central City including the
area just west of the I-405 Loop, South Waterfront, Lloyd
District and the Central Eastside. It includes projects under
construction, projects in design, projects in concept and
projects completed since 2002.
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5.
Clean & Safe May statistics
In May,
Clean & Safe security officers contacted 10,121 citizens on
the streets of downtown Portland's Business Improvement District.
These contacts included 1,658 business assistance and referral
contacts, 2,878 pedestrian contacts, assists with 72 arrests,
129 park exclusions and an additional 142 non-enforcement
problem solving contacts. The Neighborhood District Attorney
Legal Assistant reported reviewing and issuing 200 criminal
cases in May.
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6.
West Side Community Court
In May,
165 defendants performed 832 hours of work removing 81 bags
of trash from 490 block faces, and spent 40 hours working
at Loaves and Fishes during inclement weather. Sixty-seven
shoplifting defendants were sentenced to attend the Alliance's
Theft Accountability Class.
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7.
Sidewalk Ambassadors assist with Tri-Met, Rose Festival celebrations
At a Tri-Met
Street Fair on May 1 celebrating the completion of construction
on the North end of the mall, the Ambassadors provided assistance
by setting up their information kiosk and staffing it during
event hours. Later in the month, they attended an open house
and fundraising event at The Monkey and the Rat, where they
helped to promote a Burma fundraiser. In order to assist with
the Rose Festival, the Ambassadors also visited ground-floor
business establishments in the BID to provide information
about street closures, transportation changes, and events
related to the 10-day celebration. May Statistics:
- Business
Changes: 3
- Business
Visits: 185
- Publications:
6,725
- Information:
3,894
- Service
Calls: 23
- Total
Interactions: 7,030
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8.
New Avenues for Youth staff visits Downtown Retail Council
Meeting
At the
May DRC meeting, staff from New Avenues for Youth spoke about
their programs serving at-risk and homeless youth, including
the Advanced Training Academy which prepares adolescents to
work in the hospitality, tourism and retail industries.
There
are several opportunities for retailers to participate in
NAFY programs; the organization needs expert speakers in selling,
merchandising and marketing for the Advanced Training Academy.
Retailers can also participate through the advisory board
to determine curriculum for the academy, sponsor clothing
and personal hygiene supply drives, and provide job opportunities
through NAFY programs. NAFY will also provide DRC members
with pocket-sized referral cards that may be distributed to
at-risk and homeless youth. To participate, contact NAFY at
503.224.4339.
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9.
Real Change parking meter makeover
 Pacific
Northwest College of Art (PNCA) student Emelia Wessel redesigned
a Real Change Not Spare Change parking meter as her Senior
Thesis. The creative design features a full-size human metal
figure made of recycled utensils, with a fully operational
meter in its torso. The new meter will provide the DRC an
opportunity to re-launch the Real Change Meter program this
fall, and gain media exposure for efforts to curb panhandling
while raising funds to support homeless assistance organizations.
Ms. Wessel expressed her desire to continue this partnership,
and to create additional meters.
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10.
New, exclusive retail stores open in Downtown
Pioneer
Place announced recently that Juicy Couture and Betsey Johnson
have signed leases and will occupy highly visible street-level
locations in the mall. Both brands are exclusive in this market;
Betsey Johnson opened May 24 and returns to Portland after
a 10 year absence.
Downtown's
West-End area continues to develop as a niche retail district
with the recent opening of two local and independent women's
clothing boutiques, Covet and Frances May, in the 10W Building.
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11.
Downtown Retail Advocate Represents Portland at Conference
in Las Vegas
Downtown
Retail Advocate Allyson Reed attended the recent International
Council of Shopping Centers Real Estate Conference in Las
Vegas on behalf of the Business Improvement District. While
there she spoke with key brokers and retailers about locating
here, and distributed the newly published Retail and Restaurant
Relocation Guide for Downtown Portland, created by Alliance
staff. Many national retailers, small and large formats, expressed
interest in Portland as an expansion location.
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12.
Retail in the press
The Women's
Wear Daily weekly column "Letter From…." published May
8 featured retailers in the downtown area. From national and
independent retailers to the growing local apparel and footwear
industry, WWD showed a very complimentary snapshot
of our downtown, including events and locations that make
Portland unique. Expect future articles about Portland from
this San Francisco-based reporter, including features on sustainability,
local designers and fledgling boutiques.
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13.
Urban renewal planning in progress
The Alliance
is beginning technical analysis and planning with downtown
property owners, the Portland Development Commission and the
City of Portland with the hope of forming a new downtown urban
renewal district in the near term. PDC's Downtown Future
of Urban Renewal Study examined the results of allowing
expiration of the Downtown Waterfront and South Park Blocks
urban renewal districts and the expansion of the River District,
and the study will be considered this month by City Council.
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