November 2008
1. Downtown
Retail Council announces Sandra Rollinson as new chair
2. Downtown Business Census & Survey, coming
soon to your mailbox
3. Clean & Safe October statistics
4. Westside Community Court update
5. Sidewalk Ambassadors update
6. Mario's ranks ninth in DNR's Most
Influential Men's Stores
7. Downtown Marketing Initiative launches "Seek
the Unique" holiday promotion
8. Travel Portland and DRC continue "Big
Deal: Shop Portland" program
9. Downtown Vision Task Force to identify
vision for the future
1.
Downtown Retail Council announces Sandra Rollinson as new
chair
 We
are pleased to announce the new chair of the Downtown Retail
Council will be Sandra Rollinson, Senior Marketing Manager
of Pioneer Place. Sandra has been a longtime downtown enthusiast
and an active participant with both the Downtown Retail Council
and Downtown Marketing initiative for many years. She has
been the Senior Marketing Manager for Pioneer Place, a General
Growth Properties mall, since March 2006. Prior to joining
General Growth Properties she was the marketing manager at
South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California and she has also
worked in the marketing department at the Beverly Center,
an urban shopping mall in Los Angeles as well as Universal
Studios, Hollywood. A native of Oregon, Sandra brings over
20 years of experience in the shopping center industry to
downtown. Thanks for serving, Sandra!
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2.
Downtown Business Census & Survey, coming soon to your mailbox
The Downtown
Business Census & Survey will be mailed to all businesses,
non-profit entities and governmental agencies this month,
using Oct. 1 as the baseline for data collection. The results
will be collected over a six-month period in order to receive
a 100 percent count of all employees, and a statistically
significant amount of survey information. This is the eighth
annual business census conducted by the Alliance.
The Alliance
is working with Downtown Marketing Initiative, the Bureau
of Planning, the Portland Development Commission, the City
of Portland, Travel Portland, TriMet and others to develop
a Downtown Research Magna Carta, a portfolio of downtown data
and research findings that will be consented to and used by
all organizations and management entities concerning downtown
Portland. The purpose of the Magna Carta is to provide a one-stop
source that can be referenced universally through all downtown
advocacy and communication efforts.
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3.
Clean & Safe October statistics
In October,
Clean & Safe security officers contacted 8,344 citizens on
the streets of downtown Portland's Business Improvement District.
These contacts included 2,291 business assistance and referral
contacts, 3,433 pedestrian contacts, 92 arrests, 162 exclusions
and an additional 137 non-enforcement problem-solving contacts.
The Neighborhood
District Attorney Legal Assistant reported reviewing and issuing
232 criminal cases in October.
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4.
West Side Community Court
On Oct.
23, The Oregonian published an article about the West Side
Community Court and the successes it has seen over the years.
The Alliance was mentioned as one of the primary supporters
of this innovative way of dealing with low-level crime and
helping people take charge of their lives through alternative
ways to work through their convictions.
Crews
were busy in October scrubbing off sidewalks, removing ivy,
and scrubbing various areas throughout the mall area.
In October,
defendants performed 1,128 hours of work removing 80 bags
of trash from 621 block faces, and spent 16 hours at Loaves
and Fishes. Seventy-nine defendants were sentenced to attend
the Alliance's Theft Accountability Class.
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5.
Sidewalk Ambassadors update
In October,
Ambassadors located and reported offensive graffiti at Margulis
Jeweler and had it removed before the owner and staff noticed
it. October Statistics:
- Business
Modifications: 48
- Business
Visits: 271
- Publications:
2,130
- Information:
3,615
- Service
Calls: 21
- Total
Interactions: 6,085
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6.
Mario's ranks ninth in DNR's Most Influential Men's
Stores
The Nov.
10 issue of DNR ranked Mario's stores as ninth among
50 retailers setting the pace in men's fashion in its recent
cover story "Most Influential Men's Stores," based on a survey
of more than 110 sales executives at leading vendors. The
article characterizes Mario's two flagship stores as the gold
standards of upscale boutiques for men and women in the Pacific
Northwest, and includes a special mention of the casual concept
Mario's 3.10 store in Portland. To read the full article,
visit www.dnrnews.com.
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7.
Downtown Marketing Initiative launches "Seek the
Unique" holiday promotion
The Downtown
Marketing Initiative's retail holiday promotion this year
is titled "Seek the Unique." With more than $500,000 in additional
marketing dollars from the city, there will be much more radio
and airplay promoting downtown in addition to the print, billboard
and public bench advertising supplied by TriMet and our other
partners. This year, downtown Portland will be portioned off
into five districts, each with a theme based on five to 10
of the unique offerings per district. Shoppers will be encouraged
to take holiday tours of downtown via the DowntownPortland.org
website to get a sampling of offerings in each area. When
a district is highlighted, a link titled "See more like this"
will connect the shopper to a more comprehensive list of retailers
in the area.
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8.
Travel Portland and DRC continue "Big Deal: Shop Portland"
program
Travel
Portland and the Downtown Retail Council are continuing the
very successful Big Deal-Shop Portland program. The DRC will
co-op fees for a limited number of members to participate
in the booklet with rates for promotional vouchers reduced
from $1,250 to $625. Retail offers included in Shop Portland
may be in the form of a discount or a promotional gift; retailers
can offer experiential opportunities as well. A total of 60,000
Shop Portland publications will be distributed to leisure
travelers and convention delegates in 2009.
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9.
Downtown Vision Task Force to identify vision for the future
The Alliance
is working with Mayor-elect Sam Adams' office to convene a
Downtown Vision Task Force that will identify a defined vision
for the future of the downtown core and a signature retail
concept for this area. The study area will be limited to the
core retail district of downtown Portland, focusing on economic
development, jobs, retail and housing. The findings are anticipated
to be complete in the early part of 2009 and will set the
context for future discussions regarding implementation alternatives.
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