Olympia Downtown Alliance and the City of Olympia seek community input on a business recruitment and retention strategy

The Olympia Downtown Alliance and the City of Olympia want to hear from the community. Together, they are working on a business recruitment and retention strategy for downtown. The final plan will do three things:

1. It will identify retail and restaurants to bring downtown.
2. It will identify existing businesses we need to work harder to keep downtown.
3. It will identify businesses that need help expanding. 

The partners will develop the strategy through several methods. The partners will analyze demographics and market conditions. Next, they'll listen to the wants and needs of the community.

"Our downtown is resilient," said Todd Cutts, Executive Director of the Alliance. "But we've lost some incredible businesses over the past two years. As we move into recovery, we want to be strategic about making the best use of vacant space."

The Alliance is asking for the community's help in developing this strategy. The Alliance invites the community to take a survey. This survey will help determine the types of businesses the community wants downtown.

"We understand that downtown Olympia is a unique setting. We want the community to help shape downtown's future," said Mike Reid. Reid is the Economic Development Director for the City of Olympia. "This survey allows us to gather key information to craft this strategy,” he said.

The final strategy will include recommendations for businesses to recruit. It will also include insights on how to help existing businesses thrive and expand. Finally, it will serve as a road map to retain existing businesses. 

The survey is here:

https://4eyes.io/s/arj6K/

The survey is open from Wednesday, May 25 to Wednesday, June 8.

The above was provided by the Olympia Downtown Alliance on May 25, 2022.