My name is Dave Deiters. I am the Chair of the Avondale Estates Downtown Development Authority (DDA). My wife Susie and I have lived in the same house on Clarendon Avenue since 1991. Recently, both of our children and their families moved to Avondale as well. Like many of you, I love our city and am quite vested in its long-term well-being. 

The DDA’s Purpose 

As background, the DDA is a state-chartered organization with the mission of promoting the redevelopment and revitalization of the community’s downtown. It pursues this mission by:  

• investing in infrastructure projects in the Central Business District (CBD),  
• promoting our downtown to attract new businesses and visitors,  
• supporting our existing businesses with marketing programs and events, and  
• investing in strategic “placemaking” in key properties to achieve desired outcomes based on our Downtown Master Plan. 

The DDA consists of seven directors appointed by the Board of Mayor and Commissioners (BOMC), three of whom are residents and four of whom are downtown business stakeholders. I joined the DDA eight years ago because I was concerned about the long-term viability of our city’s tax structure. At the time, only around three percent of the city’s tax revenues came from the CBD, placing an unsustainable burden on our residents.  

Creating a More Balanced Tax Digest 

Impacting this tax revenue imbalance is not a short-term undertaking. It has required planning, investment and a lot of work on infrastructure-type projects that don’t yield immediate results–but they DO yield the creation of a more attractive downtown for businesses and their customers. The DDA works closely with the BOMC and city staff to affect these desired results through major initiatives like the Town Green and new developments like The Dale. These projects are catalytic and play a large role in attracting other businesses and visitors to our downtown, thereby helping our existing businesses achieve success. 

While more work is needed, we are making progress. Presently, approximately 21 percent of the city’s tax revenue now comes from the CBD.     

Working Through Transformation 

The North Avenue Complete Streets Project on U.S. 278 (E. College Avenue/N. Avondale Road) is a critical piece of our long-term improvement strategy. The benefits are obvious: a more attractive, landscaped “Main Street” with wide sidewalks, a bike lane and most importantly (at least to this grandpa) multiple safe crosswalks connecting the residential part of our city to the downtown.   

We understand this important project has been disruptive for our businesses and residents. While some businesses seem to be weathering the storm, others report taking a hit in customer visits and revenue.  

So, What is the DDA Doing for our Businesses?    

• We anticipated this disruption and have worked hard on communicating with our businesses to help them prepare.   
• We invested in “We’re Open” signs to remind customers that despite the construction, our downtown is open for business. 
• We funded and launched the Shop Local Throw Down competition, encouraging our residents to go out of their way to support our business during this time when they are most needed. Please note–your support of our businesses is the most important thing you can do if you are concerned about their well-being. 
• We have provided 100 percent funding for a marketing professional whose sole job is to promote our downtown and its businesses. She is amplifying their messages through social media and running citywide promotions with the single objective of driving customers into our city and through their doors. 
• Effective January 2025, we are funding and launching a micro-grant program for our businesses. This program will allow our business owners to quickly and simply obtain up to $2,000 to invest in their businesses.  

Programs to drive customers to our businesses are the only real and tangible way we can help. There is nothing we can legally do to help with their normal operating expenses–although it is my hope that their landlords (the property owners) recognize this short-term difficulty and are willing to grant some rent relief, similar to what some did in the Covid era.   

Take Steps Now to Support our Businesses

It's difficult to keep the long view during a construction project like this Complete Streets initiative. The traffic and the mess make it disruptive for residents and challenging for businesses. But keeping the long-term benefits of this transformative project front of mind is one of two things I’m asking all of us to do right now.    

The other ask­­­–more urgent in the near term–is for us all to go out of our way to support the businesses in our CBD.  

• Buy a cup of coffee and a pastry,  
• enjoy a craft beer,  
• have a sandwich,  
• buy a gift or a fabulous cut of meat,  
• snag a gift card,  
• entertain yourself– there are so many options.  

The money the DDA has spent and is spending is targeted precisely at this point: to encourage consumers–US–to inconvenience ourselves just a bit and support these businesses now. We want them to be here to enjoy the benefits of this important undertaking and thrive long-term in our more beautiful, pedestrian-friendly, and inviting downtown.