1. Continue the ongoing business retention program to encourage existing businesses to stay in Downtown. (Business Development – Goal 1)
2. Provide professional and technical assistance to the East Bank development project on an ongoing basis. (Business Development – Goal 1)
3. Encourage City, County, State and Federal governments to sell underused or non-essential properties.
(Business Development – Goal 1)
4. Assist the City of Wichita to market and manage the Façade Improvement Program on an ongoing basis. (Business Development – Goal 1)
5. Serve as an ombudsman to assist downtown business and property owners with planning and implementing building renovation projects and with municipal services issues. (Business Development – Goal 1)
6. Maintain a detailed inventory of every building in Downtown, including age, condition and ownership information. (Business Development – Goal 1)
7. Recruit professional service firms and other office users to locate in Downtown. (Business Development – Goal 2)
8. Recruit locally owned, unique retail stores to locate in Downtown. (Business Development – Goal 2)
9. Assist developers to add more market rate housing. (Business Development – Goal 2)
10. Recruit a grocery store to locate in Downtown. (Business Development – Goal 2)
11. Assist in analyzing and advocating the development of a new regional events center in downtown. (Business Development – Goal 2)
12. Convene regular meetings of real estate agents active in the Downtown market to share information on prospects and development projects and opportunities. (Business Development – Goal 2)
13. Recruit educational facilities to locate in Downtown. (Business Development – Goal 2)
14. Assist in analyzing and advocating passenger rail service. (Business Development – Goal 2)
15. Assist with evaluating and promoting the establishment of a fixed rail trolley. (Business Development – Goal 2)
16. Support and assist with planning an expansion of the waterwalk being constructed as part of the East Bank project. (Business Development – Goal 2)
17. Assist in evaluating the feasibility of developing a performing arts center. (Business Development – Goal 2)
18. Assist in evaluating the feasibility of developing an “extreme sports” park in downtown.
(Business Development – Goal 2)
19. Assist in evaluating the feasibility of expanding the Bob Brown Exposition Hall. (Business Development – Goal 2)
20. Assist in evaluating the feasibility of developing a business incubator program. (Business Development – Goal 2)
21. Advocate the creation of new public gardens and green space. (Urban Vitality – Goal 4)
22. Monitor pedestrian activity and recommend new street furniture and public art in appropriate locations.
(Urban Vitality – Goal 4)
23. Advocate free off-street parking after 5:30 p.m. (Urban Vitality – Goal 5)
24. Develop and place cooperative ads in print media. (Image Enhancement – Goal 6)
25. Publish or place “Downtown success stories” in the WDDC newsletter and other media outlets. (Image Enhancement – Goal 6)
26. Publish a quarterly newsletter. (Image Enhancement – Goal 6)
27. Identify cross marketing ideas that encourage specific businesses to work together and develop formal campaigns. (Image Enhancement – Goal 6)
28. Regularly convene groups sponsoring downtown events and activities to identify and address logistical issues and encourage greater collaboration. (Image Enhancement – Goal 8)
29. Assist with planning and implementing the annual River Festival and the Aviation Festival to maximize the value of each event to downtown business and property owners. (Image Enhancement – Goal 8)
30. Monitor existing conditions and advocate service improvements, as needed.
(Organizational Development – Goal 9)
31. Support initiatives to clean and attract more recreational uses to the Arkansas River.
(Organizational Development – Goal 9)
32. Collaborate with surround neighborhoods to help strengthen the downtown’s climate.
(Organizational Development – Goal 10)
33. Evaluate and implement entrepreneur opportunities that could reduce or eliminate the need for the SSMID assessment. (Organizational Development – Goal 10)
34. Evaluate the feasibility of expanding the Self Supporting Municipal Service District.
(Organizational Development – Goal 10)
35. Coordinate an annual meeting for Downtown business and property owners.
(Organizational Development – Goal 10)
36. Evaluate the Redevelopment Plan for Downtown Wichita. (Organizational Development – Goal 10)
37. Pursue federal, state and philanthropic grants for Downtown programs. (Organizational Development – Goal 10)
38. Encourage the city to include physical improvements for Downtown infrastructure needs on future bond referendums. (Organizational Development – Goal 10)
39. Encourage the city and the county to include Downtown projects in their capital improvement program budgets. (Organizational Development – Goal 10)
1. Develop a program to finance the installation of sprinklers into downtown buildings. (Business Development -Goal 1)
2. Create an incentive program to install high speed internet service in every downtown building. (Business
Development -Goal 1)
3. Revise zoning laws to prohibit certain non-compatible uses from locating on the ground floor of Douglas street buildings. (Urban Vitality -Goal 4)
4. Revise zoning and land use ordinances to prohibit surface parking as a new use on Douglas Street. (Urban Design -Goal 4)
5. Organize and host a Tour of Homes event. (Image Enhancement –Goal 8)
6. Create and manage an Up-Downtowner organization to support center city issues and concerns. (Organizational Development - Goal 10)
1. Create incentives to encourage art studios to operate in underused space. (Business Development -Goal 1)
2. Create a broker incentive program to motivate real estate brokers to market and lease downtown properties
to desirable tenants. (Economic Development -Goal 2)
3. Create and designate a taxicab stand in Old Town and other locations. (Urban Vitality -Goal 4)
4. Expand the holiday decorations to include more areas and more displays.
(Urban Vitality -Goal 4)
5. Revise zoning and business permit codes allow street vendors offering food and beverage items. (Urban Vitality -Goal 4)
6. Revise zoning and land use codes to allow use of pedestrian-oriented, sidewalk display signs for ground floor businesses. (Urban Vitality -Goal 4)
7. Identify refinements to street patterns to reduce the number of one-way streets.
(Urban Vitality - Goal 5)
8. Produce and place television advertisements promoting downtown businesses and activities. (Image Enhancement -Goal 6)
9. Develop and market a gift certificate program for downtown shops and restaurants.
(Image Enhancement -Goal 7)
10. Organize and sponsor a “Noel Night” holiday event. (Image Enhancement -Goal 8)
11. Evaluate moving the WDDC to a ground floor storefront location. (Organizational Development - Goal 9)
1. Host or sponsor a business fair to help recruit new retail and office users.
(Business Development -Goal 1)
2. Provide periodic updates about downtown growth and development opportunities to service providers that can influence decisions. (Business Development -Goal 1)
3. Revise zoning and land use codes to prohibit outdoor storage as a use downtown.
(Urban Vitality -Goal 4)
4. Revise zoning and land use codes for surface parking lots to require screening.
(Urban Vitality -Goal 4)
5. Publish a downtown walking tour brochure to highlight historic sites and other points of interest. (Image Enhancement -Goal 6)
6. Create welcome packets to educate new business owners locating into downtown about the WDDC, its services and other information about the center city. (Image Enhancement -Goal 7)
7. Organize and implement a “gallery crawl.” (Image Enhancement -Goal 8)
8. Evaluate the feasibility of offering voluntary memberships in the WDDC.
(Organizational Development -Goal 10)
1. Create new incentives to encourage the development of new, market rate housing.
(Business Development Goal 1)
2. Develop incentives to motivate owners to sell or renovate underutilized properties.
(Business Development - Goal 2)
3. Develop a landscaping and streetscape program to improve downtown. (Urban Vitality -Goal 4)
4. Evaluate the feasibility of a universal, inexpensive parking validation program.
(Urban Design -Goal 5)
5. Develop signs to better designate off street parking lots that allow public, daily parking.
Design and place signs at lots. (Urban Vitality - Goal 5)
6. Conduct annual surveys to measure changing attitudes and perceptions about downtown. (Image Enhancement-Goal 6)
7. Host a workshop to review financial benefits of using historic preservation tax credits to renovate buildings. (Business Development -Goal 1)
1. Examine Downtown building and land values to determine their accuracy in reflecting true market values.
(Business Development -Goal 1)
2. Clean and wash the storefronts of vacant buildings. (Business Development – Goal 1)
3. Develop a soft site map that identifies undeveloped or underdeveloped properties. (Business Development
- Goal 1)
4. Host a building renovation workshop in a renovated building to explain construction and financing options.
(Business Development -Goal 1)
5. Create a data base for all residential properties in downtown. (Business Development -Goal 1)
6. Develop a program to recognize beautification efforts. (Urban Vitality -Goal 3)
7. Revise zoning or land use provisions to require the removal of signs for businesses no longer in a specific
buildings. (Urban Vitality - Goal 3)
8. Create a window display program that allows non-profit and art groups to install displays in empty storefront buildings. (Urban Vitality -Goal 3)
9. Revise zoning and land use codes to require properties used for outdoor storage to be screened from public view. (Urban Vitality -Goal 4)
10. Revise zoning and business permit codes to allow street musicians to perform. (Urban Vitality -Goal 4)
11. Evaluate the feasibility of a lunchtime trolley service. (Urban Vitality - Goal 4)
12. Survey area residents to determine the types of retail, entertainment and services that would entice them to routinely visit downtown. (Image Enhancement - Goal 6)
13. Survey property owners in the SSMID to obtain their input about existing or new services. (Organizational Development -Goal 9)
1. Develop a recruitment packet with demographic and other business information.
(Business Development Goal 1)
2. Analyze underused or antiquated buildings to determine the feasibility of renovating or demolishing the structure. (Business Development - Goal 1)
3. Conduct a market study to identify and quantify market based retail and office voids.
(Business Development - Goal 2)
4. Develop and advocate a community driven process to create a new vision plan for downtown.
(Urban Vitality - Goal 4)
5. Create a parking improvement program. (Urban Vitality - Goal 5)
6. Publish a shopping, dining and entertainment guide for large scale distribution to visitors and workers.
(Image Enhancement -Goal 6)
7. Develop and direct a branding and image building campaign focusing on Downtown as a thriving and active
destination. (Image Enhancement -Goal 6)
8. Develop and publish a web site. (Image Enhancement -Goal 6)
9. Market center city businesses to convention groups and other visitors. (Image Enhancement -Goal 6)
10. Develop information about parking locations and costs and continually educate the public about parking
options. (Image Enhancement -Goal 7)
11. Evaluate the feasibility of expanding WDDC committees to engage more stakeholders in the revitalization
process. (Organizational Development - Goal 9)
12. Convene biannual meetings between City staff and Downtown merchants, property owners and residents to exchange information. (Organizational Development -Goal 9)