Downtown Fresno Partnership 2018 Annual Report TABLE of CONTENTS 1

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Downtown Fresno Partnership 2018 Annual Report TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Board & Staff 2. CEO Introduction 3. Clean & Safe 4. Trash Report & Ambassador Activities 5. Graffiti Removal, Landscaping & Sanitation 6. Crime & Security 7. Parking 8. High Speed Rail 9. Bus Rapid Transit & Bike Racks 10. Economic Enhancements & Business Development 11. Economic Development & property Referrals 12. Core Events 13. Third Party Events 14. Marketing & Communications 15. Social Media & Newsletters 16. Grand Openings & Website Statistics 17. Media Relations 18. Management & Administration 19. Downtown Fresno Foundation 20. Downtown Fresno Foundation Programs 1 Board & Staff

Board of Directors

Hilary Haron Scott Anderson Bob Gurfield Preston Prince Chair The Penstar Group Property Owner Fresno Housing Haron Jaguar Authority Mark Astone Kyle Kirkland Ken Ramos Treasurer Catalyst Marketing Club One Casino Wilma Quan-Schecter Wells Fargo City of Fresno Will Dyck Marlene Murphey Jessica Roush Secretary Summa Development Fresno Redevelopment Jean Rousseau T.W. Patterson Building Group Agency County of Fresno

Nathan Ahle Robert Ellis John Ostlund Jake Soberal Fresno Chamber of Leasing & Investment One Putt Broadcasting Bitwise Industries Commerce Inc. Dennis Woods United Security Bank

Staff

Jimmy Cerracchio – President/CEO Daniel Griffith – Program Manager Chris Rocha – Office Coordinator Tatevik Hovhannisyan – Event Coordinator Bianca Camara – Events and Promotions Coordinator Lee Blackwell – Clean Team Ambassador Tou Lee – Hospitality Ambassador

1 CEO Introduction

In March of 2018, my family and I accepted a new beginning in our lives. We started making plans to travel across the country with all our belongings and settle down in Fresno, California. After an arduous road trip, which seemed like it would involve my pets revolting against me, we arrived and I swiftly reported for duty at my new position at the Downtown Fresno Partnership (DFP).

Once settled in, and after many conversations with stakeholders, staff, and residents, I realized that this was also a new beginning for DFP. The organization was in a position to try new ideas as it was ready to take its next steps into revitalization. Fulton Street was open, new businesses were excited to locate downtown, buzz was positive. With the assistance of the DFP staff and board of directors, we began instituting new policies aimed at responsible management, economic growth, and transparency in our actions. We’ve renewed lost relationships and created new partners. We’ve instituted new programs and increased communication with stakeholders.

The following report highlights the accomplishments of the Downtown Fresno Partnership for 2018. We are very proud of our successes over the past year. We will utilize these successes to drive ourselves forward as we look to attract new development, new businesses, and more people to downtown in the coming years. Jimmy Cerracchio President & CEO Thank you for your support of Downtown Fresno Downtown Fresno Partnership Partnership.

2 Clean & Safe

Clean & Safe Initiatives/Transportation Improvements

Clean and safe initiatives are to include ambassador services and private security patrols to improve both reality and perception of public safety, streetscape and signage to make downtown more attractive. Three categories of ambassador services are to be provided: clean, safety, and hospitality. Hospitality ambassadors are to be provided in Zones 1, 2, and 3. Clean and safety ambassadors are to be provided to parcels in Zones 2 and 3 only. Due to budget and staff cuts, the Clean and Safe Team was reduced to one person in 2015. Downtown Fresno Partnership recently hired another ambassador to begin meeting the needs of all three zones in clean, safe, and hospitality efforts.

Ambassadors

Downtown Fresno Partnership currently employs two full-time Clean and Safety Ambassadors, who service and maintain several clean and safety, as well as hospitality aspects in PBID Zones 1, 2, and 3. Ambassador hours are between 7 am – 6 pm, Monday – Friday, 10am-7pm most weekends

The organization re-started hospitality program by positioning Ambassadors in key areas during high traffic events

3 Trash Report (# of lbs removed)

1300 1175 1300 1225 Plant Debris 1550 975 800 1375 725 1000 900 105 90 75 75 90 90 75 60 45 60 60

Activities

• Picked up 13,150 lbs of trash, debris and plants in Zones 2 and 3 • Coordinated gravity locking systems to be installed by Mid Valley on all dumpsters in Zone 3 • Distributed notices to all business/property owners in Zone 3 to outline City Code on dumpster use and maintenance • Tracked weekly dumpster use and maintenance in Zone 3 to report the number of locked/unlocked dumpsters to business, property owner, and City; as of November 2018, there are 27 locked dumpsters out of 66 total dumpsters in Zone 3 • Coordinated with Mid Valley Disposal to lock all 25 street cans in Zone 2 • All 25 lockable street cans and 10 non-lockable street cans in Zone 2 received weekly service by Mid Valley Disposal

4 Graffiti Removal

Removed 2,164 instances of graffiti in Zones 2 and 3, reported 78 instances of graffiti in Zones 1, 2, and 3 for a total of 2,242 instances of graffiti removed or reported

349 Removed Reported 241 215 197 189 180 184 165 164 148 132

4 9 5 6 7 4 7 8 11 3 14

Landscaping & Sanitation

• All 74 non-irrigated planters in Zones 2 and 3 received daily watering and maintenance by Miller-Clark Landscape Co. • Reported requests for pressure washing and street sweeping services to the City of Fresno Sanitation Team on an as needed basis • Held 5 Environmental Enhancements Committee meetings

5 Crime and Security

• Altered overnight security patrol hours in Zones 2 and 3 to 10 pm – 6 am to accommodate security concerns and patterns • Worked closely with Central California Private Security and Downtown Fresno Policing Unit to see an overall decrease in crime – robberies are down -47%, burglaries are down -38%, vehicle burglaries are down -60%, stolen vehicles are down 33%, sex offences down 80%, larceny down 18% and zero homicides.

• Held access to a dedicated cell phone number for non-emergency, immediate responses from the Police Department • Held 11 Security Roundtable meetings with staff, Central California Private Security, CIS Security, Civic Center Square, City of Fresno, SP+ Parking, and the Downtown Policing Unit 6 Transportation

Parking

Downtown Fresno Partnership (DFP) has taken in active role in improving the parking experience for visitors. There are 2,000 metered parking stalls, 8 city-operated and two private parking garages in downtown Fresno. The City of Fresno has prepared an RFP for smart meter services which includes credit card enabled parking meters as well as a mobile app to facilitate payments. The RFP will be issued in January 2019. Additionally, surface parking lots will also be receiving credit card enabled pay stations. Also, City of Fresno owned garages will soon receive mobile credit card machines to facilitate card payments for daily parkers. DFP is also actively promoting parking options to visitors and businesses by promoting information for available parking, including;

Smartcard: a cash-free option at the City of Fresno for $33. $3 to sign up for a card loaded with $30 in parking meter credit, which is good for 40 hours of meter time. This option has been around since 2006. First hour free: Three city-owned parking garages offer first hour free parking, with $1 an hour and $9 daily maximum.

Evenings and weekends free: City-owned meters and garages are free after 6 pm and on weekends, unless there is an event at Chukchansi Park, Convention Center, Saroyan Theater, or Selland Arena.

Parking validations: downtown businesses receive a special rate from SP+ for purchasing bulk validations for city-owned garages. Customers can also contact SP+ or Ace Parking directly to purchase parking validations, or check with businesses to receive parking validations. 7 High Speed Rail

In the past several months, there have been a number of road closures in downtown Fresno for high-speed rail construction. Downtown Fresno Partnership has remained in contact with Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, City of Fresno, and Chinatown Foundation to advocate for the best possible circumstances for businesses and property owners during construction road closures.

Tulare Street. In October 2017, Tulare Street between downtown Fresno and Chinatown closed for approximately two years. Fresno Street, two blocks north of Tulare, became the primary detour route for drivers through the construction.

Ventura Avenue. Crews are expected to begin work on a similar high-speed rail underpass at Ventura Avenue. The Downtown Fresno Partnership has pushed for Ventura Avenue to remain open until a viable option is available to connect downtown Fresno and Chinatown. Crews have begun preparing to reopen Mono Street before closing Ventura Avenue.

Kern and Mono Streets. Railroad crossings at Kern and Mono Streets closed prior to Tulare Street’s closure, and Kern Street between H Street and Chinatown has been designated for eventual permanent closure. The board of the Downtown Fresno Partnership voted unanimously to support keeping Kern Street open during the construction, and submitted a letter to the California High Speed Rail Authority. Eventually, Kern and Mono will be permanently closed – two out of the three streets that connect downtown Fresno and Chinatown.

8 Bus Rapid Transit

Fresno’s Bus Rapid Transit, “The Q,” launched in mid-February. There are 17, 40 ft-long buses that travel 16 miles on Blackstone Ave. to downtown and from Ventura Avenue/Kings Canyon Rd. to Clovis Ave.; buses run every 10 minutes. The Q makes daily transit service more accessible and safer, with 51 stations and surveillance cameras and lighting at each stop. The downtown Fresno hub is located at Courthouse Park. Businesses hope that the system convenience and proximity to Fulton St. will attract new customers .

Bike Racks

The City of Fresno has also installed some Bike Racks as requested by Downtown Fresno businesses. Additional racks are being considered for other areas of downtown.

9 Economic Enhancements & Business Development

Downtown Fresno Partnership has five employees that work on economic enhancement related programs, such as events, economic and business development, and marketing and communications. This work is provided to parcels in all three zones.

Management District Plan: Economic Enhancements Economic enhancement programs and incentives are intended to attract, grow, and incubate new businesses. They include marketing and promotions to improve downtown’s image and invite consumers to downtown, special events to attract customers, and business attraction and retention efforts. These services will be provided to parcels in all three zones.

Business Development

• Held ten merchant meetings to discuss issue areas and opportunities for downtown businesses • Launched grand opening/ribbon cutting press conference services for new businesses • Held first grand opening/ribbon cutting for two new businesses, attracting three news outlets and around 30 attendees • Assisted with 24 openings by sending announcements, press releases, and promoting through marketing channels

10 Economic Development

• Sent survey to PBID property owners to collect information on available properties for lease/sale • Created two forms to coordinate marketing efforts of available property: Available Space Listing; and Business Location Lead • Researched available properties to better share information with potential businesses • Created Real Estate Packet to help market downtown and available properties • Hosted two Business After Business educational events

2018 Property Referrals

Referred 29 downtown properties to potential new businesses

By utilizing the Business Location Lead form we are able to better understand the specific needs of a potential business, allowing us to determine which available properties meet those needs. Once a list of properties is created (which includes property details and broker contact information), they are given to the interested party.

11 Events

The Downtown Fresno Partnership is involved in both hosting events, and working with third party event groups to bring events to Downtown Fresno. These efforts bring foot traffic to downtown, and are a critical component of the success of downtown businesses. Core Events Core events are events that are organized exclusively by Downtown Fresno Partnership.

State of Downtown Fiestas Patrias •Date: 26-Apr •Date: 17-Sep •Zone 2 •Zone: 3 •Expense: $8,973 •Expense: $9,339 •Income: $23,620 •Income: $13,809 •Location: Downtown Club •Location: Fulton & Tulare •Attendance: 300 •Attendance: 10,000

The Market on Kern Christmas Parade •Date Apr-Dec •Date: 8-Dec •Zone 1 •Zone: 3 •Expense: $12,000 •Expense: $11,843 •Income: $16,000 •Income: $24,000 •Location: Kern & M •Location: Fulton Street •Attendance: 6500 •Attendance: 15,000

CArtHop •Date: Year Round •Zone: 3 Core Events Economic Impact* •Expense: $3,600 Total Direct Expenditure $ 45,755 •Income: $10,145 Total Economic Impact $ 1,174,695 •Location: Mariposa Plaza •Attendance: 15,200 Household Income Generated $ 625,994 Local Government Revenue $ 56,591 State Government Revenue $ 67,568 Jobs Created 30

*Economic Impact calculations are based of the California Arts Council Economic Impact Calculator

12 Third Party Events

Third party events are events hosted by external organizations, sometimes in partnership with Downtown Fresno Partnership. Third party events are tracked and listed on the events calendar on the Downtown Fresno Partnership website. Between January and December 2018, there have been over 2,521 third party events in downtown, bringing in more than 30,000 people to downtown Fresno.

In some cases, Downtown Fresno Partnership staff has served as a liaison for third party event producers to assist with navigating the event permitting process with the City of Fresno; in other cases, Downtown Fresno Partnership has entered into full partnerships with external organizations to handle portions of the event process, including holding insurance, coordinating vendors, and handling beer sales. Staff is in the process of creating a Downtown Events Management Program & Communications Toolkit for greater efficiency in the event planning process.

Event Name Date Zone Partners Location Est Attend FresYes 2018 24-Mar 3 Tioga Sequoia Brewing Co. Tioga Sequoia Brewing Co. 12,000 Fresno Grizzlies Opening Day 10-Apr 3 Fresno Grizzlies/Chukchansi Park Kern Plaza 200 Draggin’ the Main Apr -Dec 1 M Revs Car Club Fulton Street 1800 Destination Downtown Fresno 7-Jun 3 Cal Poly Architecture/Downtown Club The Downtown Club 200 Juneteenth Jazz & Blues 15-Jun 3 The ONME Media Network Mariposa Plaza 700 Curated with Love 6-Sep 1 B Side Collective/Thrift Mart Thrift Mart 200 Sudz In The City 22-Sep 2 One Putt Broadcasting Cultural Arts District Park 3000 Curated with Love #2 26-Sep 1 B Side Collective/Thrift Mart Thrift Mart 200 Fulton Street Party 20-Oct 3 Tioga Sequoia Brewing Co. Tioga Sequoia Brewing Co. 5000 Full Moon Fever 22-Dec 2 Funky Fresno/Thrift Mart Thrift Mart TBD

13 Marketing & Communications

Marketing plays a critical role in all aspects of Downtown Fresno Partnership’s mission of a healthy and vibrant urban core. The organization’s primary means of marketing are the website (downtownfresno.org), Facebook, Instagram, Newsletters, Press Releases and weekly appearances on KSEE24’s Central Valley Today Show to market events and businesses in Downtown Fresno. In 2018, Downtown Fresno Partnership worked to establish baseline statistics for the organizations marketing and media outreach efforts. Major efforts include;

• Updated business directory with all current businesses, locations, hours, etc., last updated in 2014, will be utilized with new website. • Created new Dining Guide to distribute to visitors, along with new downtown dining maps for kiosk display in various locations downtown. • Cultivated communications and partnerships with external organizations to collect information for merchants to determine staffing needs and hours of operation during special events including Convention Center calendars. • Coordinated communications for visitors and partners by providing dining guides, lists of attractions, merchant information, and event tabling as needed • Updated media list • Secured weekly segments on Central Valley Today Show (KSEE24) for June – December 2018; • Distributed event information to businesses potentially impacted by large-scale, special events

Likes Reach Comments Saves Profile Visits Impressions 46,347 709,966 1,987 1,171 4,241 986,108

162227 Impressions 144559 145654

89109 125583 52127 54753 45064 76614 16492 50479 23447

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER14 Marketing & Communications

Total Likes Engagement Reach Organic Reach Paid Reach Impressions 12,768 93,717 1,122,700 983,546 162,726 2,168,638

262501 Reach

130571 116036 88297 88286 77722 80764 63715 55616 72376 44917 41899

In The News Newsletters

318 Downtown Fresno news • Business Newsletters: 25 stories featured on • Event Newsletters: 23 downtownfresno.org • General newsletters: 3 • Successful Deliveries: 64,069 • Total Bounces: 1,074 • Unique Opens: 17,399 • Open Rate: 30.42% • Unique Clicks: 2,730

15 Grand Openings

DFP Grand Openings (2) • FAC Water Tower (April) • SmileDirect Club (May) • Chelita’s Taqueria (June) • Fresno County Superintendent of • Tutis Fruties (June) Schools (May) • 1418 Fulton (July) • Cookies & Things (October) • Assisted Grand Openings (22) • Edward Jones Financial • The Chicken Shack (June) (December) • Toshiko Sushi and Ramen Bar • Root & Rebound (October) (October) • On A Roll Sushi (August) • Chicken King (August) • Ohana Pantry (July) • Nevera Juice Bar (August) • Bitwise Hive (June) • Zack’s Brewing (December) • Ragazzo’s (May) • Halo Fresno (September) • Los Panchos Cantina (May) • UsBean (September) • Fulton Street Coffee Roasters • COMMON SPACE (2 openings) (Februrary) (June + December) • RawFresno (January) Website Statistics

• 96.97% of pageviews came City Pageviews from the United States • Of the pageviews that Fresno 28,570(39.26%) originated in the United San Francisco 10,734(14.75%) States, 89.59% were from California Sacramento 7,760(10.66%)

YTD 2018 Totals as of December Clovis 4,481(6.16%) 13th 2018 San Jose 3,456(4.75%) • Users: 81,240 • Sessions: 105,547 Los Angeles 2,036(2.80%) • Pageviews: 194,485 Visalia 1,266(1.74%) • Average Session Duration: 1:19 Madera 1,262(1.73%) • Bounce Rate: 68.04% Reedley 1,156(1.59%) 16 Media Relations

Central Valley Today Show Press Releases

Featured 24 Downtown Fresno Guests Sent 17 Press Releases to on KSEE 24’s Central Valley Today Fresno area media outlets Show

CVTS Guests Press Release Topics • Downtown Fresno Partnership • Alley Mural Unveiling (August) • Fulton Live • Business After Business (August + • Juneteenth November) • Lowell Historic Home Tour • CalPoly ArtHop (June) • Market on Kern • Curated with Love – Market • Draggin’ the Main (September) • Chicken Shack • Draggin the Main (May) • Rock n’ Roll Mural • DTA Class VII (November) • Hashtag Workspace • Fulton Live (May) • Take 3 Burgers • Juneteenth Jazz & Blues (June) • Ohana Pantry • Lowell Home Tour (May) • Business After Business • MJ Take 3 Tribute (August) • Fiestas Patrias • PSW New Business – La • Central Valley Brewers Guild Boulangerie (September) • Curated with Love • PSW New Tenants – Smile Direct & • Fresno Foxes FC Superintendent of Schools • Fulton Street Party (May) • USBean • DFP Announces New President • Toshiko (March) • Christmas Parade • New CEO/President Meet & Greet • Zack’s Brewing (May) • Fresno Monsters • HSR Master Plan (October) • Cookies N Things • Common Space/Zack’s (December) • Chicken King

17 Management and Administration

Downtown Fresno Partnership’s new President/CEO started on April 30, 2018. After several meetings with staff and board members, administrative priorities and a six month workplan were implemented for the remainder of 2018. Since May, the President/CEO has worked to identify staff roles and key projects, updated bookkeeper guidelines for greater functionality, which has ultimately reduced the bookkeeper’s time spent at Downtown Fresno Partnership in half, completed the 2017 financial review and initiated the 2018 review, established clarity for contracts, agreements, and insurance, and lastly, re-started conversations with the board and City of Fresno on the MOU with the City of Fresno.

Programs

Cart Vendor Program

Vendor Carts (2) Hot Dogs & More La Chiquita Concessions Vendor Cart Program Duration January – December (Annual) Vendor Cart Fees $385 per month $50 late fee Total Revenue Collected Hot Dogs & More = $4,620 La Chiquita Concessions = $4,620 2017/2018 Late Fees = $1,655 2018 TOTAL = $10,895

18 Downtown Fresno Foundation

The Downtown Fresno Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established in 2015 with support from the Downtown Fresno Partnership board of directors. Its mission is to enhance our community by providing resources and support for downtown Fresno stakeholders. The organization is dedicated to developing projects, programs, and activities that support economic development, revitalization, and community engagement within Fresno’s central business district. These initiatives are meant to enhance and extend the impact of the work being done by the Downtown Fresno Partnership.

The Downtown Fresno Foundation has a separate board of directors from the Downtown Fresno Partnership. The President/CEO of Downtown Fresno Partnership sits on the Downtown Fresno Foundation board to provide monthly updates. The Program Manager of the Downtown Fresno Partnership acts as the Executive Director of the Foundation; this is an unpaid role.

19 Downtown Fresno Foundation Programs

Downtown Fresno Downtown Academy Parklet Program

Downtown Academy is a 10-month The Downtown Fresno Foundation is award-winning collaborative program partnering with the City of Fresno, designed to connect key business, downtown business owners and local government, and community leaders non profits in an effort to build with forward-thinking young parklets in Downtown Fresno. professionals to explore downtown Parklets will offer outdoor seating for Fresno. The program is currently in restaurants and other businesses and its 7th year. help beautify Downtown Fresno. Fulton Storefront Renovation Program

This program offers financial incentives in the form of a rebate on construction and design to applicants considering exterior rehabilitation or renovation of a commercial structure.

2017-18 Finalists: • Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant • T.W. Patterson Building • Procter’s Building • Take 3 Burgers • 933 Fulton Street • 913-917 Fulton Street • Downtown Nutrition