Title
Approval of the Downtown Improvement and Theater District Funding Package
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve the Downtown Improvement and Theater District Funding Package
Report
Issue:
Whether to approve a funding package aimed at the continued effort to make downtown Olympia more welcoming and vibrant and support the theaters located in Olympia's Theater District.
Staff Contact:
Mike Reid, Economic Development Director, Office of Community Vitality, 360.753.8591
Presenter(s):
Mike Reid, Economic Development Director
Background and Analysis:
At the April 19, 2023 Finance Committee staff lead a conversation with the committee as part of the "Reports and Updates" on some of the successes and challenges associated with post-pandemic economic recovery efforts as it relates to downtown Olympia. An area of success is the improved economic activity and public perception of downtown as articulated in a recent editorial in The Olympian, titled "If you haven't been to downtown Olympia lately, you might be surprised at how popular it is" (dated March 27, 2023). This editorial highlighted some public and business sentiment specifically a survey conducted by the Olympia Downtown Alliance, specifically a 21% increase (now 84%) of respondents identifying that downtown is "on the right track" as compared to 2020 survey asking the same question.
Alternatively in an article in The Olympian on April 17, 2023 titled "Olympia's live theater companies among many nationwide struggling to bring back audiences" it is apparent that the recovery is not being felt equally. A recently published analysis supports this assertion being a nationwide trend. In a report published by IMPACTS Experience it is highlighted that local performing arts centers (specifically live theater venues) have failed to return to pre-2019 attendance numbers and in fact are the highest impacted community cultural v...
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