Gallery Hop, the first Saturday of each month, takes over High Street with street performers, > vendors, and art galleries. > As We Are by Matthew Mohr is a 3D, 14-foot interactive sculp- short ture in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. From a photo north booth inside the head, it projects visitors’ faces onto its surface using 850,000 LED lights. The alliance entire installation rotates 360 degrees so pedestrians can see it from the street. Bailey Rose/SNA 2017 annual > report 13 temporary murals are installed on the exterior facades of build- ings along High Street in the With nearly 40,000 Short North Arts District for guests attending over Six in the Short North. two nights, HighBall Halloween is one of the > largest Halloween events in the country, and the only Costume Couture fashion show. ABOUT THE SHORT NORTH ALLIANCE LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Short North Alliance (SNA) is a The Short North Arts District 150 buskers, musicians, and perform- 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving Remains the Art and Soul of a ers of all kinds entertained visitors at both the property owners and business Growing Columbus Gallery Hop the first Saturday of each month. Over 1,200 musical productions, owners of the Short North Arts District. It This is an exciting time to be in theatrical productions, drag perfor- is funded in large part by the Short North Columbus. Our city is growing at rates mances, bands, and other performance Special Improvement District and is con- that haven’t been experienced in over events were held at businesses, by tracted annually to fulfill the Short North 50 years, with the Mid-Ohio Regional non-profit organizations, and at venues Special Improvement District’s Plan of Planning Commission predicting that as throughout the Short North Arts District many as a million more people will be along with 30 community wide events, Services. added to the region by 2050. Today, parades, and celebrations. In May, the the Short North Arts District is indicative Short North Alliance dedicated the first The mission of the Short North Alliance of the major growth and development new permanent public art installation is to nurture the Short North Arts District that the Columbus region is experienc- in the Short North Arts District in over as a vibrant, creative, and inclusive ing. And with growth comes change. As 10 years, The Messenger Wall. In June, I write this, more orange barrels than galleries in the Short North Arts District community and leading arts destination. trees presently line High Street, nearly partnered with nationally acclaimed half a billion dollars (yes, billion with author Larry Smith to create the fourth The Short North Alliance will: a B) in private development projects Short North Temporary Mural Series, Six are unfolding in a less than two mile in the Short North. And, in August, the v Advocate (for the District’s success) stretch of High Street, and some days City of Columbus launched the Art on it feels like construction disruptions will High: Public Art Strategic planning pro- v Improve (the District’s public spaces) never end. Change can sometimes be cess, which will result in robust future art v Engage (the District’s unique stakeholders) challenging, messy, and hard. Daily, our projects and programs along with a half organization has listened to the strug- a million dollar investment in public art. v Sustain (the District’s resources and gles business owners, property owners, supportive relationships) and residents have experienced as a In 2017, the Short North Alliance found result of growth and responded with that a critical need emerged to help v Market (the District’s success and new programs and services to help our our community manage new demands opportunities) community thrive as generated by growth and to think more we grow. But as I strategically about its future. We spent reflect back on the considerable time and resources in 2017 last year, as well as leading a comprehensive Market and the last 30+ years, Consumer Study for the Short North Arts TABLE OF CONTENTS the sustaining con- District, convening meetings to foster stant in the Short less impacts due to public and private North Arts District construction, and developing numerous small business support programs tar- Letter from the has been change. Executive Director 1 Through it all, our geted at helping small businesses thrive community persists during 2018’s especially busy construc- Short North Arts District with creativity and tion year, including a customized loan By the Numbers 2 passion in the face program with Huntington Bank. Finally, of change. we again significantly increased the Clean & Safe Programs 3 reach of our marketing efforts and the To that end, 2017 Beautification & Public Art 5 net profits from our fundraising efforts to could arguably the continued benefit and investment in Business & Visitor Services 6 have been one of all in the District. the most creative Advocacy & Neighborhood and artistic years The pages that follow not only report Development 7 we have ever seen how we did in 2017, but they showcase the creative spirit that we see on High Events & Initiatives 9 in the Short North Arts District. Nearly Street every day in the Short North Arts 250 exhibitions District. Although change is bearing featuring over 550 down upon us, there is no doubt about artists were pre- it – the Short North Arts District remains sented by galleries Columbus’ art and soul. and businesses in Betsy A. Pandora, MCRP the Short North Arts Executive Director District in 2017. Over Short North Alliance 1 Photo Alyssa Powell Short North Arts District galleries hosted musicians > during the September Vivo Chamber Music Festival. SHORT NORTH ARTS DISTRICT BY THE NUMBERS Places to Places Services & Arts & 95 Eat & Drink 75 to Shop 122 Salons 14 Galleries Community Lodging Total Property SHORT NORTH SPECIAL 17 Groups 10 & Hotels 348 Businesses 700 Owners IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT Square feet of residential and BOUNDARIES 3,999,100 commercial building space KING AVE WHO LIKES THE SHORT NORTH ARTS DISTRICT? 480,679 website visitors 71,700 twitter followers FIFTH AVE w 7% Increase from 2016 6% Increase from 2016 29,975 Facebook followers 29,500 Instagram followers 3% Increase from 2016 45% Increase from 2016 THIRD AVE WHO’S TALKING ABOUT THE SHORT NORTH FIRST AVE ARTS DISTRICT? HIGH ST HIGH The Short North Alliance helped to generated over 200 positive news stories for the ST FOURTH SUMMIT ST SUMMIT Short North Arts District in 2017, including stories from these national news outlets, Forbes, USA Today, Leisure & Travel, Expedia, Zagat, Budget Travel, The Wedding Wire, Hop Culture, HGTV, Dallas News, The Odyssey, Ohio Magazine, The Daily Herald, The Plain Dealer, The New York Post, St. Louis Post, Spoon University, and Glamour Magazine. GOODALE PARK I-670 SHORT NORTH ALLIANCE Events & Promotional Projects 52.2% Short North Special GOODALE Improvement District 41.5% AVE 2017 FINANCIALS Grants for Public Art 4.2% Other Earned Income 1% TOTAL REVENUE: $1,039,334 Business Owner Contributions .06% Program Services 82% Fundraising 15% TOTAL EXPENSES: $964,777 Management & General 3% 2 > CLEAN & SAFE PROGRAMS The Short North Alliance runs the Short North Ambassador Program, which is staffed by a team of five full-time ambassadors who spent over 8,900 hours per year keeping the Short North Arts District clean and safe. Here are some of their accomplishments over the last four years. CLEAN SERVICES 1 % Change Event 2014 2015 2016 2017 from 2016 Snow removal (man hours) 243.15 145.98 39.87 23 - 42.31% Landscaping (man hours) 147.4 180.6 112.75 134.5 + 19.29% Watering (man hours) 114.4 229.18 358.58 362.56 + 1.11% Gallons of Water Used 6,821 8,302 19,515 15,690 - 19.60% Graffiti removed 1,869 2,952 1,877 1,867 - 0.53% Trash cans emptied 438 219 572 837 + 46.33% 1 In 2017, we again saw minimal snowfall. However, we saw additional time invested SAFETY SERVICES 2 in landscaping, weeding, leaf removal, % Change and trash removal. While we continue to Event 2014 2015 2016 2017 from 2016 experience instances of graffiti, they were comparable to 2016. Number of Security Tours 1,983 2,300 2,205 4,346 + 97.10% 2 District safety was a challenge in 2017, Security Tours (Miles) 2,971.6 3,450 3,304.4 6,517.4 + 97.23% with the national opiate epidemic, and Be On The Lookout (Email) 38 34 57 68 + 19.30% increases in the local homeless population creating safety hot spots. As a result, our Be On The Lookouts (Text) 13 26 50 + 92.31% Ambassadors invested a significant amount of their time toward crime prevention and Business Checks 1,699 2,212 2,310 2,321 + 0.48% safety support, with a greater number of Hotline calls (Total) 286 518 495 449 - 9.29% security tours and safety alert messages disseminated than any year prior. Incidents 1,982 1,514 1,395 1,459 + 4.59% 3 311 requests 18 31 18 12 - 33.33% For many, the Short North Ambassadors are the first point of contact they meet in the Short North Arts District. They work continuously to provide information to 3 VISITOR SERVICES visitors and serve as a welcoming voice % Change Event 2014 2015 2016 2017 from 2016 to our neighborhood. We recorded less instances of hospitality service this year. Hospitality 425 600 258 269 3.49% Ambassadors tracked similar visitor initi- ated questions in 2017. 3 Short North Ambassadors work > 18 hours a day to keep all streets within the Short North Special Improvement District clean and safe.