Taxable property owners in Downtown and Asylum Hill overwhelmingly voted in a city referendum to reauthorize the Hartford Business Improvement District (BID). Hartford City Clerk Dan Carey announced the results early Thursday evening after the ballots were opened and counted. Support from more than 50% of the actual properties representing more than 50% of the assessed value was needed to pass the referendum. According to results released by Carey, 73% of the properties in the District voted in favor of renewing the BID. These properties represented more than 85% of the assessed value of the District.
The Hartford BID is now reauthorized for a 5-year term, commencing with a general meeting of the property owners that will be held later this summer.
BID Executive Director Michael Zaleski thanked the taxable property owners of the District for their support and noted that the results surpassed the results from the original referendum in 2006. Zaleski stated, “The property owners of Downtown Hartford and Asylum Hill showed in this vote that they believe in what the BID is doing. We received the endorsement of property owners large and small are humbled by this overwhelmingly show of support.”
Zaleski noted that strong support from the City of Hartford, specifically Mayor Eddie A. Perez and members of the Court of Common Council, made the successful referendum possible. He also cited the strong relationship that the BID has developed with the Hartford Police Department and Department of Public Works.
Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez called the vote an, "enthusiastic endorsement of the progress that is being made and a strong investment in Hartford’s future.”
Lawrence R. Gottesdiener, Chairman, Northland Investment Corporation stated, "As downtown's largest property owner, Northland was pleased to vote in support of the city referendum to reauthorize the Business Improvement District. Through the BID's partnership with major stakeholders in the city, we are confident they will continue to improve the pedestrian experience, cleanliness and most importantly the safety of the urban core."
Business improvement districts are public/private partnerships that provide enhanced services within a defined commercial area. More than 1,000 cities nationwide have turned to the BID model to provide supplementary clean, safe and promotional programs in their business district. In Connecticut, Stamford, Danbury, New Haven, Bridgeport, New Britain, Manchester and Hartford’s Park Street all have viable business improvement districts.
