Downtown Thriving Thanks to Improvement District Projects
Downtown West Chester has twice as many restaurants as it had seven years ago. And property values have shot up four times what they were in 1999.
It’s clear the Business Improvement District is meeting its goals.
“It has benefited the downtown area‚” says Malcolm Johnstone‚ executive director of the BID. “We were established in 2000 as a resource agency to provide economic development and business support for downtown West Chester.”
The BID’s three main goals are to increase customer traffic to downtown‚ assist downtown businesses and advocate for the BID to government agencies. Its efforts have led to some impressive designations.
West Chester made the list of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for 2006 and was noted as having a Best Small-Town Downtown by Sperling’s Best Places To Raise Your Family.
“This past year has been remarkable in how much recognition we have received‚ both regionally and nationally‚” Johnstone says.
