Think of some of the business districts that have pulled off remarkable turnarounds in recent years in Los Angeles.
Hollywood is certainly one example. It used to be a place where only tourists went. For a few minutes anyway, until they fled in horror. Now, apparently everyone is going to Hollywood, judging from its traffic. In the ultimate sign of its turnaround, the chronic parking shortage is now the main complaint you hear about Hollywood.
Another obvious example is downtown Los Angeles. Full of interesting restaurants and a magnet for business, downtown also has become home for tens of thousands of young professionals seeking an urban antidote to L.A.’s sprawl.
And think of some of the business districts that are now striving to replicate that kind of a turnaround.
For example, in the Oct. 10 issue of the Business Journal, we featured San Pedro. Its funky little downtown area has some interesting shops and galleries, and the interior of the Warner Grand Theatre is worth a lingering look. San Pedro will get a boost beginning next summer when the U.S.S. Iowa battleship becomes a permanent dockside museum, bringing perhaps 450,000 tourists a year to within a few blocks of downtown San Pedro.
One more example of a business district on the verge of a comeback: Chinatown. You can read all about it in the front-page centerpiece article in this week’s issue.
Question: What do these neighborhoods have in common?
Answer: an active business improvement district.
Indeed, such a district, commonly called a BID, can be a true benefit. It can attack crime and grime, improve streetscaping and market the neighborhood. Probably its greatest value is simply getting property owners together in a room on a regular basis to come to agreement on what they want to accomplish in their neighborhood.
A BID is an official district with a defined boundary, and the property owners inside the borders must pay a regular special assessment that’s like a tax but legally not. Often, the money is used to hire a small staff and carry out what the property owners want.
On the one hand, it’s aggravating for property owners to, in effect, pay twice. Taxes are supposed to pay for police patrols, streetscaping and the like. But many cities are slowly bankrupting themselves by, for example, letting workers retire at age 55 with 90 percent of their salary. So the businesses have to pay special assessments to do what the cities fail to do or fail to do enough of.
But on the other hand, property owners in a BID can decide for themselves what they want done and how they want it done. Sure, they pay more, but they get what they want. And there’s value in that.
What’s more, a BID can do much more than paint over graffiti and hire private security guards. Effective ones, as in the examples above, can market their areas, host community events and generally be a public advocate for their neighborhood. If they are successful, property values in a BID may increase and rents rise.
To be sure, BIDs are no universal panacea. The property owners have to be willing to pay up – not easy in poor areas. The staff should be creative and effective despite their usually low budgets. And it certainly helps to be in a neighborhood where there’s something to build on, something unique or at least interesting, such as Hollywood lore or Chinatown’s culture.
But in Los Angeles – a city that earlier this month floated the idea of making property owners repair sidewalks that run through their land – don’t be surprised if we see more businesses get together to create BIDs to take care of themselves.
And judging from the record of some of L.A.’s BIDs, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Charles Crumpley is editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
