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BID and the Stardust Foundation Announce the First Tentant of the Sartdust Annex Building
The Downtown Auburn Business Improvement District (BID) and the Stardust Foundation of Central NY are happy to announce that the BID will be the first tentant of the Sartdust Annex Building, located on 2 State Street, right downtown. The move took place the first week of January '08.
The BID's mission is to provide business owners with resources and tools to improve their bottom line, and also to facilitate new business startups and help obtain funding to enhance the atmosphere of downtown main streets and neighborhoods.
The BID Office is back on track with the return of Dan Schuster as Executive Director- sharing all of his experience with the city he grew up in. Dan worked as the BID's assistant director from '03 to '07.
Dan's past experience with BID, and his previous position as an access advocate with Options for Independence, along with his position on the Cayuga County Legislature provide him with a well-rounded perspective of his community and its needs, to foster a positive productive future.
Connie Tallcot also joined the BID, on Oct. 1st bringing with her 17 years of small business ownership experience, as the owner of Tallcot Bookshop in Union Springs. She co-founded the Route 90 Association, which is the sponsor of the annual Route 90 Fifty Mile Long Garage Sale which runs from Montezuma to Homer during the last weekend of July. This event began in '87 and has been one of the largest tourism draws in Cayuga County.
Connie was the Tourism/Special Events Coordinator at Fingerlakes Mall for two years, which was a position created when Bass Pro Shops opened. She is also serving her second term as a member of the Cayuga County Office of Tourism's Board. Connie looks forward to providing ways for Auburn and its residents to honor their remarkable past and to forge a new future, making Auburn a place to make memories, once again.
Dan and Connie's first downtown collaboration was the 21st Annual BID Holiday Parade and Fun Day, which thousands of people attended. The Auburn Public Theater was packed with people enjoying entertainment provided by Bob Piorun & Julie Howard & Friends. The children's craft table was overflowing with activity with the guidance of Karin Moskov, Director of the Family Wellness Institute, and her friends.
Auburn Fire Department Chief, Mike Hammon, established a new tradition of building a bon fire in the parking lot across from City Hall. Thank you to all of the sponsors, participants, the City Department of Public Works, Jerry DelFavero, John Panko and everyone who came out for the day and evening. Plan to come next year for even more family fun.
One of the most exciting endeavors to take place recently in downtown Auburn culminated with a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, November 27, '07, on newly laid pavers in the revitalized Exchange Street Mall at the entrance of the Auburn Public Theater. The 1.3 million dollar downtown improvement project began in May '07 and finished in early November '07.
The project stretched from Wegmans to Parker's and included new sidewalk pavers, trees, benches, flower pots, trash can receptacles, cigarette urns, plantings in Exchange Street Mall, and improved lighting. Funding for an additional number of benches and flower pots of the same style were obtained by BID to carry the design further up East Genesee Street hill. In the spring, flowers will be planted and maintained by the city and BID.
People will enjoy relaxing on the benches while the additional flowers and plantings will brighten the face of Downtown Auburn. These two beautification programs, plus the Downtown Auburn Main Street program, which is a matching state grant opportunity for businesses to renovate the facade or the interior of their building, are important basic maintenance projects that preserve Auburn's buildings and its appearance.
Additional funding is still available. For information call the BID office at 252-7874. These programs make Downtown Auburn a much more inviting place to be and do business. Clean, safe sidewalks, flowers, plants and benches say to the passerby, "stop, sit, stay a while." Statistics prove that visitors look for downtown areas to stroll after arriving at their destination, leaving their car behind to stretch their legs, and spend time in restaurants, stores and historic sites.
Downtown Auburn is well on its way to becoming the heart of the city that it wants to be and can be. Come join in on new downtown events happening in '08. Watch the BID website for future information. Also let them know what you would like to see happening Downtown.
www.auburndowntown.org
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