[ ] YOUR PIONEER SQUARE: 2025
THE STRATEGIC PLAN OF FOR PIONEER SQUARE ALLIANCE FOR THE PIONEERALLIANCE SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
Looking to the Future In all Seattle and beyond, there is no place like Pioneer Square. The impacts of our long and complex history, beginning with our Coast Salish roots, set the stage for where we are today. Pioneer Square is changing. Our reconnection to the waterfront with the removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct brings change, challenge, and opportunity. Development is bringing much needed infill throughout the district. Large-scale projects, including a cruise terminal at the foot of South King Street and an additional light rail line, will build upon our existing infrastructure bringing more people from the region to our neighborhood. Pioneer Square is resilient. Despite the multitude of pressures, the neighborhood continues to thrive. Our vision for 2025 is simple. We must continue to serve the myriad stakeholders and needs of our neighborhood. To achieve this, we must make certain all feel welcome and all voices are heard. Lisa Dixon Howard Executive Director
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
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NICE TO MEET YOU. GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. WE’RE THE ALLIANCE. The Alliance for Pioneer Square is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that works to help preserve what makes the Square the most authentic, engaging, and dynamic neighborhood in Seattle. We do this by effectively implementing programs in the following areas: Leadership, Business Development, Communications and Marketing, Public Realm, and Advocacy. 2020 Snapshot of Pioneer Square: 117 Bike racks 143 Buildings 790 Businesses 830 Hotel rooms 385 Summer flower baskets
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
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ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
LEADERSHIP We foster collaboration among Pioneer Square’s many stakeholders, and leadership across our board, staff, and volunteers.
• Create a culture of continuous improvement and alignment around shared goals • Increase neighborhood capacity for leadership and engagement through our boards, the Pioneer Square Residents Council, business owners, volunteers, and other stakeholders • Understand the entirety of who is in the neighborhood and ensure equitable inclusion and access to resources, especially for people living with a disability, people of color, and historically marginalized groups • Develop an organizational dashboard to track progress
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT We support the mix of unique businesses that make Pioneer Square an exceptional destination by engaging and connecting businesses with people, resources, and the support they need to thrive.
• Retain, welcome, and attract a healthy and inclusive mix of ground floor retail, restaurants, services, and upper floor employers • Develop a collection of resources relevant to the needs of neighborhood businesses • Facilitate connections among businesses to foster cross promotions and collaborations • Identify and leverage business opportunities in existing and future projects • Engage with existing and potential businesses, property owners, developers, and investors to help them understand and work within a historic district • Build connections with employees of neighborhood businesses ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING We tell the story of Pioneer Square through advertising, promotion, and district brand management. • Promote the neighborhood to the broad range of people from in and outside the district who live, work, and visit here • Highlight and celebrate the district’s arts, historic, and cultural assets • Create an effective media strategy that tells the story of the Square, the place and the people • Communicate the role of the Alliance as neighborhood stewards • Cultivate neighborhood ambassadors to further the work of the Alliance and raise awareness of our work • Build upon the Communications Plan to improve two-way communication with the entire neighborhood
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
PUBLIC REALM We support on-the-ground projects and physical improvements in the neighborhood to create vibrant spaces connected to transit, streets, and parks. • Maintain and improve district appearance and upkeep by addressing graffiti removal, preserving tree health, maintaining alleys, and preserving historic assets • Work with the Pioneer Square Preservation Board to make the process more accessible, transparent, and effective • Foster and promote neighborhood connections to the waterfront and the Chinatown International District through pedestrian access and public space activation • Communicate with the City of Seattle to better coordinate construction timelines and disruptions, curb space management, pedestrian and vehicular access, site cleanliness, and safety considerations • Continue work on completed Alliance-led public realm plans: Pioneer Square Parks & Gateways and Pioneer Square Streetscape Plan • Support neighborhood initiatives to improve alleys as public spaces • Connect with property owners and others to address vacant, dilapidated, and underused buildings • Identify opportunities to improve ADA access and the pedestrian experience
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
ADVOCACY We advocate for the neighborhood and the issues that impact Pioneer Square at the city, county, and state levels.
• Advocate for balanced processes and promote good public planning and design for future projects, including Port Terminal/Pier 46, the Center City Connector, Sound Transit 3, the Waterfront Seattle Program, and others as needed • Work to continuously improve civility, public health, and public safety • Develop additional supports to provide all stakeholders with clear paths of action when faced with civility and street disorder issues • Work with the Mayor’s Office, city departments, and other partners to increase regional access to human services to address unmet needs • Advocate for access to public restrooms • Recommend the City develop a long-term infrastructure plan • Advocate for infrastructure that improves neighborhood access and usability including areaways, streets, and sidewalks • Advocate for increased residential development ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A special thank you to the business owners and employees, residents, stakeholders, and Pioneer Square enthusiasts for your time and energy in shaping this plan. We can do this together. Steering Committee Lyle Bicknell Barry Blanton Kathleen Johnson Jane Richlovsky Ryan Smith Alliance Board of Directors Barry Blanton Ryan Smith Adam Hasson Leila Kirske Charles Beall Brendan Donckers Jan Drago Azar Koulibaly Denise Merle Jane Nelson Paul Swegle Andy Wattula Grant Wojahn
BIA Stakeholder Board Jane Richlovsky Barry Blanton Aaron Barthel Keli Faw Bruce Gryniewski Adam Hasson Kim Kogane Melody Lanthorn Aimee O’Carroll Benjamin Rainbow Yasuaki Saito Jesse Spring Grant Wojahn Staff Lisa Dixon Howard, Executive Director Liz Stenning, Deputy Director Karen True, Director of Business and Community Development Sara Pizzo, Public Realm Manager Chris Woodward, Marketing Manager Nikki Somers, Office Manager Consultants Allegra Calder, BERK Jescelle Major, BERK
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN
February 2020 www.allianceforpioneersquare.org
[] RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF A PANDEMIC ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER SQUARE 2020-2021 COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE PLAN
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
Letter from the Director In February 2020, the Alliance had just completed Your Pioneer Square: 2025 Strategic Plan, which was the culmination of seven months of planning and community engagement. This plan was to direct the Alliance’s focus for the next five years as the neighborhood navigates large-scale infrastructure projects and responds to everyday challenges. As we made preparations to release the plan to the public, our world was hit with a pandemic, and forced changes to our neighborhood landscape that we could not have imagined. Businesses closed, some temporarily, and some permanently. Office workers were instructed to begin working from home for an indefinite amount of time. Events and gatherings were cancelled and tourism ground to a halt. The Alliance postponed the release of the strategic plan as we focused on an immediate response to these drastic changes. The 2020/2021 Pioneer Square Recovery Plan is meant to tell the story of what we have done, what we are doing, and what we plan to do for the 18 month period immediately following the pandemic shut down. It is also meant to be responsive to changing circumstances that we may not yet see coming. Alongside this shift to directly responding to the pandemic, we recognize the importance of the national conversations about race, social justice, and equity. In addition to shifting our programming to meet the needs of neighborhood recovery, we will be pursuing an outcomes-based equity training for the Alliance and BIA Boards as well as staff. We hope to uncover ways to move forward in building a more equitable and just neighborhood and business environment as we recover from the pandemic. We believe the spirit of Pioneer Square is built upon ingenuity and resilience in the face of great challenges. Our commitment remains the same: to serve the myriad of stakeholders and needs of our neighborhood by ensuring all feel welcome and all voices are heard.
Lisa Dixon Howard Executive Director
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
Seattle Comes to a Grinding Halt March 2020 – Introduction of stay home orders to beginning of Phase II Safe Start Washington phased reopening plan Provided immediate technical assistance, information sharing, and support programs to businesses and the neighborhood as the pandemic spread and shut down orders were put in place.
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT • Connected over 150 businesses with appropriate funding sources, technical assistance, and community support • Launched and funded a Small Business Support Program to provide $175,000 in direct monetary assistance to small businesses • Assisted businesses in navigating rent relief options, landlord discussions, and new City legislation for eviction moratoriums • Introduced a Business Climate surveying programming to assess time-in-point business needs • Launched a Pride and Resilience steering committee focused on shaping direction on short and medium term recovery strategies
MARKETING/COMMUNICATION • Built out and populated the Pioneer Square - Support Local marketplace, which hosts over 90 businesses to sell products and gift cards online • Introduced the Support PSQ marketing campaign, which had over 4,000,000 impressions on various social media sites directing customers to shop their favorite local businesses through the PSQ online marketplace • Increased communication to weekly emails with COVID-related resources, financial supports, and public safety information for businesses • Launched Pioneer Square Monthly, a virtual forum to directly share information and resources to businesses and gather feedback about their current pressing needs
PUBLIC REALM • Coordinated and secured funding with partners for 33 murals on boarded up businesses to help beautify the neighborhood while employing Pioneer Square artists • Tracked and disseminated the ever-changing schedules of private and public construction during various shut-down orders, and advocated for right-timed pauses and advances
ADVOCACY • Persistently advocated for a continued level of public safety for the neighborhood as businesses initially closed and then began to reopen • Worked with Seattle Department of Transportation on deploying food pick-up priority zones • Supported expediting different types of street closure permits for businesses to vend or serve outside • Participated in weekly information sharing sessions with other Business Improvement Areas within Seattle and select Council Members to strengthen our collective efforts with the City
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
Discovery, Planning & Activation Phases II and III of Safe Start Washington Phased Reopening Plan Assist businesses as they adapt for success during the pandemic, ensure a safe and welcoming district for neighbors and visitors, focus on drawing new target markets, and rapidly adjust programming to new guidelines
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT • Produce and distribute a “Welcome Back Kit” for businesses to assist in adhering to public health guidelines • Focus on relationships with property owners and managers to support the changing tenant landscape • Provide relevant technical assistance trainings to businesses on operating during uncertain times • Track vacant ground floor commercial spaces • Assess current ground-floor market and begin creating retail recruitment strategy
MARKETING/COMMUNICATION • Promote Pioneer Square as a local arts and cultural tourism destination to regional visitors for a safe alternative to lengthy travel • Advertise Pioneer Square as a West Coast travel destination to two major Seattle tourism feeder markets • Design passport program to be used for multiple short and longterm promotions and online events • Create an access campaign for those navigating Pioneer Square for safe brick and mortar shopping • Launch a community building campaign to harness and further strengthen community pride in Pioneer Square
PUBLIC REALM • Support a welcoming neighborhood through increased attention on graffiti, illegal dumping, and general appearance of the district • Assist businesses in applying for various new street-use permits • Work with a neighborhood stakeholder group to enhance alley lighting through coordinated matching investments • Continue to invest in unique passive experiences and beautification efforts in the public realm to draw people to the neighborhood • Relaunch the Northeast Pioneer Square Framework process to identify key agency and neighborhood stakeholders, tie together current planning efforts, and develop a shared vision
ADVOCACY • Work with the City and service providers for neighborhood focused solutions to public safety issues • Advocate for neighborhood-based process for Sound Transit 3 project with other neighborhood partners • Continue pushing for funding to address infrastructure improvements to areaways
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
Implementing a vision for recovery Phase IV of Safe Start Washington Phased Reopening Plan to Post-Covid Advance district economic vitality and diversity, build upon community connection and resiliency, and advocate for fixes to systemic issues the pandemic exposed
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT • Activate retail recruitment efforts in alignment with long term strategy • Build out cross-business connections for promotions and collaboration
MARKETING/COMMUNICATION • Integrate new markets identified during COVID into existing markets of tourists, upper-floor businesses, and stadium event attendees • Promote Pioneer Square as an Arts & Cultural district to draw larger audience • Continue to develop the narrative of Pioneer Square as a welcoming destination for all
PUBLIC REALM • Foster reconnection with the Chinatown-International District & the Waterfront through the Jackson Hub and Pioneer Square East/West Connections projects • Build upon property owner and manager connections from Business Development work to address vacant, dilapidated, and underused buildings
ADVOCACY • Advocate for public restrooms throughout the district • Develop plan to promote increased residential development to further support a healthy and balanced district
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS STAFF Lisa Dixon Howard, Executive Director Jessa Timmer, Deputy Director Karen True, Economic Development Director Chris Woodward, Business Development Director Sara Pizzo, Public Realm Manager Thembela Mavuso, Marketing Manager Nikki Somers, Office Manager Designed by TCi Design + Branding
ALLIANCE FOR PIONEER PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN
2025 STRATEGIC PLAN February 2020
RESPONSE PLAN October 2020
www.allianceforpioneersquare.org