New nonprofit to support downtown Columbus
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A new nonprofit has launched in Columbus with the goal of improving the city’s downtown for businesses, residents and visitors. The Office of Downtown Development seeks to fill gaps in the types of services and resources that are provided to new and existing businesses, such as help with permitting and working with city government, while also amplifying the sustainability of programming and events to help boost the economic success of the downtown area.
“Like many other cities, Columbus is challenged by how we emerge from the struggles and setbacks of recent years, and particularly post-pandemic, how businesses and organizations can evolve to adapt and thrive,” said Executive Director Ike DeClue.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, DeClue said he knows the kind of help businesses need from his experience in running a restaurant in downtown Columbus.
“I can take what my experience was, which was from the time we leased the building until we opened, there wasn’t much support. We didn’t have anybody come in and say, ‘Hey, how can we help you? You’ve never applied for a liquor license before. Can we help you with that process?’ DeClue said. “Our objective is to, if you want to bring a business to downtown Columbus, we’re going to make it really easy to be able to do that.”
DeClue said the ODD will serve as a resource to answer questions and help businesses navigate city government so they can put more focus on their business operations.
The office’s efforts will include collaboration with other organizations throughout Bartholomew County dedicated to community improvement, development and enhancement.
DeClue, who most recently served as director of sales and business development at the Columbus Area Visitors Center, said the early feedback from the business community has been positive.
“They’re all on board. They know there’s room for improvement. They love the downtown,” he said. “That’s why they’re there, and they understand that that’s why we’re here as well. We want to continue bringing the right businesses downtown, so that it’s more of an attraction.”
The nonprofit will also look at how the city can adapt to a more hybrid work environment with fewer people in the office.
“We have currently less people working downtown as most downtowns do,” DeClue said. “And so, we have to kind of reimagine exactly what our downtown is going to be. We can’t rely on 5,000 workers coming downtown. So how do we help these businesses attract people in another way?”
In addition to managing the nonprofit in his new role as executive director, DeClue will be responsible for formulating strategic initiatives to promote and advance the vision of the office.
DeClue said the organization’s short-term goals include creating a downtown map and connecting with business owners to understand what their current challenges are.
“The first objective is fully understanding what we have, being in constant communication with business owners, real estate owners, and other organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and innovative partners we have,” he said. “We’ve got some some smaller scale stuff right away that we’re going to work on as well, which includes better organization of our programming downtown and how easily people can access that information.”
The ODD said the efforts all point toward a primary objective of creating a thriving downtown that attracts top talent to live, learn, work, play and stay in Columbus.