Public meeting for updated Italian Market Business Improvement District plans to be held on Wednesday

In March of 2015, a public survey was released to see what improvements the community would like to see in the Italian Market and surrounding areas, followed by a public meeting in November.

With so much business and activity on 9th Street, research is continuing for the creation of a Business Improvement District for this area. A second public meeting is being held this week to discuss the latest plans for making these improvements to the area a reality.

The last meeting discussed the budgeting and plans for this. Business owners in this area would be required to pay 0.2% of the assessed value of their properties to fund the BID. Commercial properties, residential properties with two or more units, vacant lots zoned for commercial or industrial use, and 9th street curb stands will all be required to contribute to the funding for the BID. Non-profits and schools would not be required to pay, but are encouraged to do so. How much exactly will this be costing most business owners? This chart says it all.

Since the last meeting, some budgetary changes have been made. The proposed budget for the BID is now $145,200, in addition to the existing association’s service budget of $190,000 and the shared services budget of $98,800, for a total of $434,000. The BID budget includes funding for maintaining the cleanliness of the area, the introduction of wayfinding signs like those in the Passyunk area, public safety, promotion and more. The funding from the existing association’s budget goes towards things like the Italian Market Festival funding of $70,000, the the Italian Market Visitors Center and the visitor parking lot.

This informational session about the BID will be held on Wednesday, January 20 at St. Maron’s at 1013 Ellsworth St. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. You can read more about the BID proposal here.