A new midtown? Efforts are under way to revitalize this less-than-appealing district.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

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If midtown Anchorage held a logo contest, it's anyone's guess as to how the area would be represented in this branding exercise. There's no quaint cafe district or hip urban strip that is the pulse point for this part of town. The closest thing to the center or a hub is the intersection of 36th Avenue and C Street, and the boundaries that define where midtown starts and where it ends are even debatable. Sure, there's the windmill in front of Chilkoot Charlie's--but the Empire State Building it's not.

IN NEED OF IDENTITY

It is this identity crisis that is just one of the challenges facing the Midtown Improvement District--becoming known as the MID--as the newly formed pseudo-organization struggles with the politics and paper shuffle required to even begin turning this indescribable, indefinable, lackluster commercial and business district into a place where people want to do more than just get in and get out.

"Midtown has happened in Anchorage," says Tom McGrath, president of the MID Board of Directors. "But it wasn't planned."

Business Improvement Districts (BID) are an innovative way to supplement public services. Traditionally established by groups of local businesses and property owners, funding is typically raised in the form of taxes and fees for services in a particular geographic area. Funds are then used to improve specific business areas through beautification efforts, increased maintenance, additional public safety officers, capital improvements, local promotions, marketing, special events, development projects and other activities selected by the organization. The goal of BID activities is to attract customers, clients, shoppers and businesses to their business district.

BID IN ALASKA

While a relatively new concept in Alaska, BIDs have been around since the late 1960s when the first emerged in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Today, there are more than 1,200 operating in every region of the country in 42 states and the District of Columbia. The states with the largest number of BIDs are California, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Wisconsin--there are 57 BIDs in New York City alone and they can cover as many as 300 blocks or as few as one.

The Anchorage Downtown Partnership (ADP), currently the only BID in Alaska, is being turned to as the showcase example of how this business model can work for its sister neighborhood. It was formed in 1996 by local business and property owners to enhance downtown and...