A message from Kathleen Eriksen, President & CEO of the Downtown Tucson Partnership:
The Downtown Tucson Partnership (DTP) is proud to share our FY 19/20 Annual Report. We work passionately every day to make Downtown Tucson the place people want to live, work and play. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic quickly changed our focus from growth and celebration to respond and recover. With the support of our many partners, we provided creative funding programs like the DTP Gift Card Incentive program, which in two short months infused $308,000 directly into downtown businesses. Our website and e-newsletters became a reliable and comprehensive resource for COVID-related information. Our ambassadors worked around the clock cleaning, providing PPE materials and assisting those in need.
Through a partnership agreement with Pima County, we awarded 29 outdoor café grants and 32 downtown rebound grants. The agreement also enabled us to install banners, signage, window vinyl and sidewalk clings to welcome the community back downtown while sharing important health and safety information. Additional dollars were made available for touchless trash compactors, water filling stations, hand sanitizer stations and the tight-wrapping of 158 street trees in white lights. With guidance from the Pima County Health Department, we will encourage a safe reopening of Downtown Tucson through the Ready for You program. Meeting the regulations and requirements of the Ready for You program will help protect downtown employees, customers and residents. When the time is right and the community is ready, Downtown Tucson will be Ready for You.