City moves toward starting downtown strategy office

In response to a resolution from City Council, as well as the many projects and disruptions foreseen for downtown in the next few years, the city plans to create a new downtown strategy office by the end of September. The Council resolution, approved on Feb. 13, urged the city manager to develop a comprehensive strategy to create and track opportunities to ensure that downtown is a “safe and vibrant place for visitors and residents.”

Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune sent a memo to Mayor Kirk Watson and Council members that outlines plans to create a new downtown strategy office that would, according to the memo, “seek to integrate planning and execution into one cohesive program and will coordinate closely across City departments as well as with community, business, and other governmental stakeholders.” Fortune foresees one to three individuals would staff the new office, including a downtown strategy officer and two data analyst/planners.

“The Downtown Strategy Officer will be responsible for establishing a downtown task force consisting of representatives from respective City departments for efficient service coordination and project delivery,” he wrote.

Fortune notes that the next step is to identify existing resources and/or propose “necessary resources through the current budget process to secure the required resources and personnel.” He concluded that staff would work to have the new office established “by the end of this fiscal year if not sooner.”

It was just last month – effective Feb. 24 – that the city of Austin officially established the Office of Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment (ACME).

“Austin’s identity is closely tied to arts, culture, music, and entertainment. After months of engaging with numerous organizations and individuals who are dedicated to the success of Austin’s creative community, it became clear to me that we needed to realign our resources to better support our cultural ecosystem,” said City Manager T.C. Broadnax. “Under a unified office, we can improve how we provide services and create synergistic opportunities that attract tourists, generate revenue, and elevate Austin’s profile as a cultural destination.”

Angela Means will lead that office. The Council Economic Development Committee will hear about both of these new initiatives at its March 21 meeting.

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