St. Cloud Downtown Alliance Resurrects Business Improvement District With Private Funding

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud Business Improvement District is going forward, after all.

The Downtown St. Cloud Alliance has announced that the plan, which was narrowly voted down by property owners last year, is back on. State law requires that a district cannot have over 35% of voters come out against it. St. Cloud downtown owners were in favor by a wide majority but not by enough to meet the extremely high threshold.

In response, the alliance has created a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit to run the privatized BID. What were mandatory assessments under the initial plan are now voluntary investments. They will be paired up with donations from organizations and businesses throughout the area that have pledged support.

The BID will use the organization Block by Block, which will staff downtown with ambassadors trained in de-escalation and mediation. They will serve as eyes and ears for local law enforcement as well. Another focus for the ambassadors is community engagement.

Downtown Alliance Director Rachel Lolmasteymaugh says, “These efforts underscore our commitment to making Downtown St. Cloud a thriving hub for activity, creativity, and connection.”

The hope is that by finding ways to start the program privately, downtown businesses will see the value of the BID and vote to fund it publicly through tax self-assessments well into the future.

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