As we kick off 2020 and begin a new decade, let’s take a look back at the best year yet for Downtown Visions and Main Street Wilmington. 2019 was filled with growth for Downtown Wilmington, and we are thrilled to have aided in the progress.
Downtown Visions mission is to create, manage, and promote a quality environment for people who live, work, and visit Downtown Wilmington. We do this through a variety of initiatives, including our Main Street Wilmington program. As a Main Street community, Downtown Visions not only preserves historic buildings, but also focuses on small business recruitment, marketing, and promotion.
This past year we achieved our mission through a number of efforts supporting our small businesses. We held monthly Merchant Meetings for Downtown business owners to share ideas and connect with each other. We provided event support for city-wide festivals, like the Ladybug Festival and Downtown Brew Fest, and ongoing marketing support through our social media channels and blog.
Through our Facade Improvement Program, Cavanaugh’s received a grant from Downtown Visions, Comenity Bank and Bank of America to complete a major renovation process that restored their historic building to its former glory in honor of their 30th anniversary on Market Street. We also awarded a grant to LRS Capital Partners for restoring a longtime vacant property on 8th Street.
We also launched two new marketing campaigns to drive traffic during historically slow weeks. Made on Market and Market Made: 12 Days of Christmas were completely free for businesses to participate in simply providing an exclusive offer valid during the week of the campaign. In partnership with New Market Wilm, we handled the creation and promotion of graphics, posters, advertisements, and social media posts during the campaigns.
In March, we attended the National Main Street Conference in Seattle and was an American Express presenter for Small Business Saturday. During the conference, we were awarded a $500 grant towards our Small Business Saturday campaign in Downtown Wilmington.
In December, we hosted the very first Pop-Up Holiday Village and launched our holiday lights display in Willingtown Square. The Pop-Up Village took place after the Wilmington Christmas parade and drew over 600 visitors to the pop-up alone. Vendors saw a boost in sales and expressed positive feedback from the event.
“I thought the event went really well. It was well organized, and it gave us an opportunity to be exposed to new customers,” said Delaware Originals. “I really appreciated the tent being provided as this was a big plus!”
Last, but certainly not least, Downtown Visions celebrated the opening of 20 new businesses within the Central Business District in 2019. These businesses include: Dunkin, BoostMobile, DECO Food Hall, IM Coffee, Wildwich, Girard Craft & Cork, WHYY, Makers Alley, Torbet Social, Faire Market & Cafe, King Creative, Studio Nurture, Drip Café, Three Kings Kustoms, Blitzen, The Chicken Spot, El Diablo, Green Box Kitchen, Jet Phynx, Wilmington Land Bank Conservancy, and ArchCraft.
Downtown Visions works to show the world what an amazing place Downtown Wilmington, Delaware is every day, and we could not do so without help from our incredible community. Please consider donating to Downtown Visions and support our efforts to preserve, progress, and promote Downtown Wilmington all year long!