Business Improvement Districts

The Downtown Lincoln BID Association is an association led by a volunteer board representing three downtown business improvement districts that fund the work that keeps our downtown safe, clean and thriving.

What is a BID?

The International Downtown Association estimates that more than 1,000 business improvement districts (BIDs) currently operate throughout the United States and Canada.  A BID provides enhanced improvements and activities, such as economic development, parking management, maintenance and marketing, in addition to those provided by local government.  BIDs are proven to work by providing services that improve the overall viability of business districts—resulting in higher property values, occupancies and sales.

Downtown Lincoln Business Improvement Districts

Established in 1989 by downtown property and business owners, in cooperation with the Downtown Lincoln Association (DLA) and the City of Lincoln, the Downtown Lincoln Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are special benefit assessment districts that convey special benefits to the properties located within the district boundaries.  The management BIDs provide enhanced economic development, parking management, communications and advocacy programs above and beyond those provided by the City.  The Maintenance BID provides landscape maintenance, daily trash removal, sidewalk cleaning and anything that ensures a clean, safe and inviting downtown. BIDs have been used successfully in downtown Lincoln since 1979, improving the district’s business climate by attracting new investment, jobs and civic improvement projects and improving the overall image of downtown.

Location:

The three Downtown BIDs are overlaid with the following general boundaries:

The Downtown BID includes approximately 66 blocks of downtown Lincoln bounded roughly by K, 7th, Q and 17th Streets. 
The Core BID Overlay includes approximately 22 blocks within the center of downtown Lincoln bounded roughly by Centennial Mall, M, 9th and Q Streets. 
The Maintenance BID includes approximately 205 block faces of downtown Lincoln bounded roughly by M, 7th, Q and 17th Streets. 

BID Services:

Maintenance BID

205 block faces, 8 FTE and 2 PTE plus 2 Crews of Community
Alternative Workers

- Daily trash removal
- Weekly sidewalk cleaning
- Landscape maintenance
- Tree and shrub replacement
- Handicap ramp snow removal
- Holiday decorating
- Trouble-shooting (“eyes and ears” for downtown)

Management BID’s

66.5 blocks, 4 FTE and 1 PTE

- Advocacy for downtown ratepayers, businesses
- Facilitation of development process/projects
- Investor and consumer marketing
- Business recruitment assistance
- Technical assistance for small businesses
- Parking database, information and referral
- Data collection, research and information dissemination for economic development
- Holiday lighting, purchase building displays
- Replace outdated street furnishings
- Hotel/visitor promotion—parking subsidy for major conferences and events
- Feasibility studies, market analysis, implementation plans
- Limited support to Updowntowners

Products & Publications

1. Web page includes:

- Space Available Guide
- Downtown Living database
- Business Directory
- Interactive Maps
- Downtown Dining, Shopping, Parking Map, Parking Facility database
- Visitor’s Guide
- Economic development/business recruitment information
- Interactive Event Calendar
- Up-to-date news/blogs
- Sporting Event Information
- Hotel Information

2. Other:

- Annual Report—release each fall
- Benchmarking Statistics
- Newsletter—monthly publication sent out to 1,650 people or businesses
- Dining, Shopping, Parking Guide—distribute 80,000 per year
- Visitor’s Guide—distribute 25,000 per year
- Weekly Events Calendar—distribute over 400 each week to businesses and individuals
- Panhandling Brochures and Posters—distributed throughout the downtown community