Blaine Downtown Alliance is taking strides

By Stefanie Donahue

The Blaine Downtown Alliance board of directors have been busy since forming earlier this year.

People representing small business, the school district and the city make up the alliance board, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and an affiliate of Washington’s Main Street Program.

“[Board committees] are all working together with strong momentum toward making downtown an economically self-sustaining ecosystem of retail and wholesale businesses, personal and professional services, entertainment, dining, worship, lodging and a comfortable space that encourages community connection,” said board president Alicia Rule in an email. “We are focused on building on the assets we have and using them as springboards for attracting new business. We appreciate our local history and aim to integrate it in each of our plans.”

Rule said the board’s design committee is building an electronic database that details all existing facets of downtown – such as buildings, public signs and facades – and identifies areas that need improvement.

“This is particularly timely, considering the city council just passed updated design guidelines, which are modern [and] simpler to follow and have built in options for acceptable deviation,” Rule said.

“Together, this work creates a fresh template for potential entrepreneurs, business owners and the downtown alliance volunteers to create an esthetically pleasing walkable downtown space with more creative leeway than before.”

The board’s economic vitality committee is also building a database that identifies properties that are for sale or for rent downtown as well as rental rates, square footage, unique building features and vacancy rates, for example.

“After it’s fully compiled, it will be easily accessible to potential entrepreneurs on our website in an attractive, easy to read format that we hope will encourage people who are dreaming of their own downtown business to take the next step,” Rule said.

The Blaine Downtown Alliance website will go online soon, she said.

“Our current volunteers are dedicated and working very hard, but for the program to be sustainable we will need a wide breadth of community involvement,” she said. “We know that many hands make light work and it will take this whole community to make this work.”

Rule said the alliance is in need of more board members and committee volunteers.

“Ideally, we would like to have a diverse board and committees that reflect all parts of our community,” she said. “We need everyone from stay at home moms to retired professionals and everyone in between.”

To get involved, email Rule at aliciarule@gmail.com or search “Blaine Downtown Alliance” on Facebook.