NOVEMBER'S DOWNTOWN DIGEST |
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The holidays look different this year, giving us more reason to reflect on what we're thankful for. The BID, and our services, would not exist without you. We thank you for your dedication to improving Downtown Worcester and supporting us on our shared mission. We are thankful for all of our BID members, Downtown businesses and organizations, our hard working Ambassadors and everyone who makes Worcester such a special place to be. We hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! |
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A Day in the Life of an Ambassador |
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Our team of Ambassadors provides crucial services to elevate the level of maintenance and attention to detail throughout our District, creating a destination that is ready and open for businesses, walkable for pedestrians, and welcoming for visitors, employees, and residents.
To celebrate the positive work and deeds that Ambassadors perform day in and day out, we have created a professional video to showcase their endless dedication to Downtown. Not only do Ambassadors provide impactful services, but they form meaningful connections with others, especially the less fortunate in our community. Our Ambassadors reach out and help the homeless, and other vulnerable individuals, by connecting them with local resources and shelters.
We are excited to announce the release of this new video! Through this project, the public will discover a new appreciation for Ambassadors and the meaningful work that they perform in our neighborhood.
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October weather brought many fall leaves and a surprise snowstorm that kept our Ambassadors busy and productive! Due to the changing season, Ambassadors performed a variety of beautification and maintenance tasks to keep Downtown Worcester in pristine condition. They raked and disposed of fallen leaves, shoveled snow, and used ice melt to keep walkways, cross walks, and business entrances safe for pedestrians. These supplemental services create easier walkability for city goers. |
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As COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Worcester, the Ambassadors’ cleaning efforts are more important now than ever. During the month of October, Ambassadors performed 2,640 “business wipe downs,” sanitizing high contact surface areas such as storefront door handles. The dramatic increase in sanitization work this month, compared to last, demonstrates that our Ambassadors are doubling their efforts to keep our community safe and healthy.
Our Ambassadors performed sidewalk sweepings and litter removal 2,853 times last month. These efforts consist of sweeping up debris and collecting illegal trash dumping, in order to keep our area clean and waste free. These numbers more than doubled when compared to September. As a result, the Ambassadors are constantly over-performing and focused on improving Downtown Worcester every day. Please view our report here to see how Ambassadors’ supplemental services enrich our community.
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Downtown Welcomes New Businesses |
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Downtown Worcester has yet another new business, joining our ever-growing neighborhood. Located at 250 Commercial Street, Fortissimo Coffeehouse is a café that offers high quality coffee and fresh food options. Owner Rodrigo Borges originally opened his first location in Somerville. Borges was inspired to open his newest location Downtown after seeing the exciting growth opportunities that were taking place nearby, such as welcoming the Worcester Red Sox team and fostering the construction of Polar Park. Fortissimo is known for their Brazilian/American food offerings and specializes in delicious paninis. They also offer a large variety of breakfast sandwiches, pastries, snacks, frappes, and smoothies. The shop has delivery to accommodate customers during the pandemic. Stop by Fortissimo Coffeehouse and support the latest small business to move into Downtown Worcester!
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Center Stage Bistro Offers New To-Go Service |
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The owners of the Theatre Cafe were in the process of opening a new eatery called Center Stage Bistro in Downtown Worcester. Due to the pandemic, plans for the new establishment had to be altered. However, residents and foodies can still get a taste of the new and innovative creations found at Center Stage Bistro through its new to-go service! Guests can order directly online and pick up at the Theatre Cafe, or they can use ChowNow to have their food delivered, as long as they live within a five mile radius. Discover Center Stage Bistro’s new menu for yourself here!
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Art and Placemaking Come Together |
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As we enter the third and final phase of our interactive storefront art installations at 554 Main Street, we tasked the four participating artists with illustrating some of the placemaking initiatives that we are planning for Downtown Worcester. Their distinctive styles creatively and colorfully illustrate some of the common themes and desires we heard during our planning project.
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Pamela Stolz shows how enhancing currently empty storefronts can create a more welcoming and attractive neighborhood to draw more people to Downtown Worcester. |
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Eamon Gillen imagines how we’ll create welcoming signage to greet those entering Downtown. In other words, what should the "gateways" into Downtown Worcester look like? |
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Josh Croke highlights the importance of promoting walkability to connect businesses and Downtown landmarks. |
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John Vo conceptualizes the proposal of integrating wayfinding signs and electronic signs to improve navigation in the area, especially for pedestrians. |
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This multi-phase art installation demonstrated how partnerships, planning, and paint can quickly transform storefronts and thereby help to enliven Downtown Worcester. We want to thank all of our partners on this project: the artists, including Ivy Orth from LunoSol Design, whose rotating sculpture helped draw attention to the adjacent window displays; The Menkiti Group, owner of 554 Main Street; the Worcester PopUp at the JMAC, a program of the Worcester Cultural Coalition in partnership with the Hanover Theatre; and the planning firm Civic Space Collaborative.
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Voters Prefer Downtown Shopping |
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Every week, the Worcester Business Journal (WBJ) creates a poll to gather public feedback on a variety of local issues. In a recent poll, the WBJ asked their readers, “When you shop in-person, what kind of experience do you prefer?” and the results showed great promise for Downtown Worcester. The majority of people (36%) said they preferred Downtown/Main Street shops for all their in-person shopping. |
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Especially at this time, it is incredibly important to support area shops and restaurants. These small businesses are the fabric of Downtown Worcester. These business owners do not just own companies, they support their families, contribute to our community, and foster the diversity that defines Downtown. As the holidays draw closer, think about shopping locally and investing in the small businesses that work hard to make our area a welcoming neighborhood.
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Our community meetings take place on the second Friday of every month. Join us for our next meeting on December 11 at 9 a.m.! These meetings are held virtually and open to all.
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And mark your calendar for our virtual 2020 Annual Meeting on Wednesday, December 16, at 3:30 p.m. We will highlight accomplishments over the past year and preview some of our plans for 2021. City Manager Edward Augustus will share thoughts on Downtown Worcester’s future and Steve Hillard, president of StreetPlus, the company providing and coordinating our Ambassadors, will summarize their efforts from this past year.
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