If it feels like Capitol Hill’s Chamber of Commerce has been on the site a lot lately, it has. A new strategy to partner on events as a way to bring new customers to the Hill has interim executive director Michael Wells in the middle of a lot of the kinds of things CHS covers.
“We need more bodies in the stores,” Wells told CHS. “We’re doing events that physically produce that.”
Monday night’s Spirit of the Hill dinner is the Chamber’s annual fundraiser and award ceremony. This year’s Spirit of the Hill recipient? Broadway Building developer Michael Malone. In only its second year, the dinner is not that far removed from the way the Chamber used to operate: a lot of eggs in one basket and a lot of work for a not always clear return on investment.
But in an effort to better deploy the $2.6 million in business mitigation budget Sound Transit is on the hook for as light rail construction continues through 2016, the Chamber is trying to be more nimble — and direct — with its plans.
The first example of the new events strategy was the teaming of the Chamber with Molly Moon’s on the Mobile City promotion in August. Wells said that though attendance was lighter than organizers had hoped, the event was an example of the kinds of things the Chamber and its Broadway Improvement Association branch can do in partnership with Hill businesses. Wells wouldn’t say exactly how much was kicked in for the Mobile City event but that it was in the thousands, not hundreds of dollars.
Mobile City was a good enough learning experience but Wells expects the next Chamber effort around boosting Capitol Hill’s already vibrant Halloween celebration will be more effective. The Chamber-backed weekend will include a haunted house — Blood Manor will be fittingly housed in an empty retail space on Broadway — and a family costume parade in Cal Anderson Park.
“Some of the merchants have been frustrated,” Wells said about the Chamber’s use of mitigation funds thus far. “Thousands of dollars will now be going into events.”
The Chamber’s work with the business mitigation funds are an interesting illustration of the challenge of trying to creatively deploy a large amount of money to help the widest breadth of businesses possible. One strategy was to educate. Last spring, the Chamber worked with Sound Transit on a series of seminars for Hill business owners. Feedback was mostly positive Wells said and, while there were challenges in making time to attend the classes, Wells thinks there will be more education opportunities again in coming months.
Another area of investment has been the Chamber’s YourCapitolHill Web site touted as a CHS killer a Web 2.0-styled marketing site for the Hill. The end product of a +$30,000 marketing and branding effort, the site is a mostly quiet brochure site with information about the Hill and a directory of businesses. Wells said the site — approved by his predecessor who resigned in May — has not been a failure but he has heard the call from member businesses and non-members that the Hill needs to do more to drum up real business.
That means for every new era effort like Twitter classes for business owners and fancy new Web sites, you’ll see some old fashioned Hill promotion like holiday events and sales. “We’re focused on marketing in a different way,” Wells said. “That might mean doing some things that are familiar.”
Seems like the more business and the more “non-hill residents” that come in to capitol hill the more crime and the greater chance of Belltown-esque douche baggery there is.
I disagree – it seems a bit silly to presume that “outsiders” of the hill (basically anyone who doesn’t live in the zip code) automatically bring crime to the area. helping local businesses flourish will hopefully mean more occupied commercial spaces / less abandoned alleyways and a more bustling nightlife that will attract the city’s attention to bring a stronger police force.
If the Chamber wants non-Hill residents to attend events here, they need to address the parking issue. My non-Hill friends cite parking as their first reason for never coming here.
Yes – parking is an issue. I have the same issue when I invite friends and family to do something on the Hill, and when they get a ticket, they get really hostile.
Secondly, the Chamber and the merchants will need to create real events, not just we are here, dah dah dah.
There has been a rash of these things, put out as events, about as exciting as buying a piece of cheese or whatever is being promoted. Exciting, not at all. The Sunday Farmers market beats almost all of them, so called events, variety, scheduled, with cheese.
Good luck.
It might be good to note here, Mike, that the Broadway Business Improvement Association (the BIA) was the organization (and an organization administered by the Chamber) that brought the Farmer’s Market to Broadway in the first place.
The closest Christmas Market I know of is in Leavenworth, so I bet Capitol Hill could snag a signature event for itself. To do it right, it should be an entire weekend, or a series of weekends, during the holidays. It can be a “holiday” market if people prefer, but the European style Christmas market draws a lot of people. Gifts, food, drinks (albeit tempered by American fanatiscism about keeping alcohol behind a fence), booths, lights, etc. and you can create a pretty festive atmosphere that would draw people to the Hill. Yes, parking sucks…but we have good bus service to the Hill.
Like Kriskringle Markt in Chicago?
One idea is to have big destination events like this on the west side of the Hill, closer to downtown. We could draw people the short walk up from Convention Center and Westlake.
many of us long-time residents of the Hill are not happy with all the riff-raff that is gentrifying,crowding, and trashing our neighborhood. Capitol Hill, along with the other Seattle neighborhoods, has lost its unique character.
I hate big chain stores & especially chain restaurants. I go out of my way to only go to locally owned establishments. (which for me does not include Starbucks, nor Panera Bread) I miss Bailey-Coy but I go to the new Elliot Bay books, and Victrolla & Poppy & Racho Bravo and le Frock. . . etc. But not to those chain stores. The more chains open up on Braodway & Pike/Pine etc, the less I will shop locall & move toward other areas of town
riff raff and gentrification don’t really match up…
I don’t like to jump on someone else’s opinion, but this type of “head in the sand”, “us vs. them” attitude doesn’t get us anywhere. Capitol Hill is a PART OF Seattle. Neighborhoods change and develop. You really want to go back to the run-down Hill of the 80s? Sure, I’d love to go back to the exciting Broadway of the early and mid-90s, but as the focus of gravity on the Hill has shifted to Pike/Pine, we need to engage and figure out how to make Broadway a viable and lively center, not an empty shell of its former self.
And, seriously, this type of thinking is what led Seattle to vote down mass transit way back in the 70s. When we could have had a comprehensive system, mostly paid for by the Feds, here we are 20 years later, struggling to build something much smaller for a heck of a lot more money.
We need to plan for our future, not pine (no pun intended) for our past.
I, too, try to shop local whenever possible…but what part of this discussion of how to bring people to the Hill for shopping and/or events, had to do with chain stores? We need to figure out how to bring foot traffic to a struggling area–regardless of whether the stores are local or not, the “local” economy needs it.
@Vics : actually, as a CH resident for decades, I can tell you that most armed robberies, gay bashings, street fights etc have indeed always been perpetrated by non-Hill residents. No, turning Capitol Hill into another destination party like Pioneer Sqr or Belltown is Not an answer. Getting rents in line with the economic realities & encouraging more people to call CH home, and not just more rich people, makes for more local shopping & drawing folks in to get drunk at night will not do that . . .
@confused: have you not noticed the number of chain stores and restaurants on Braodway or proposed or “coming soon” to a CH corner near you?
While I respect your perspective I don’t think any part of trying to enliven and bring nightlife business to the area has anything to do with trying to bring drunkards and criminals to the neighborhood – yes I understand that it’s an inevitable byproduct of said publicity but that aside I don’t think that encouraging more activities surrounding the area’s businesses would necessarily result in said “worst case scenarios.”
I would agree that it would be smart to adapt and attempt to further integrate capitol hill into the rest of the city rather than clinging onto what it once was. talk of the horrors of “gentrification”, while sentimentally understood, do nothing to help solve the sagging economy and plight of empty storefronts. i’m of the same opinion that an “us vs. them” attitude does not solve anything. all i can say is that I think establishing more neighborhood activities and bringing business to the hill can be a good thing when it’s done right.
yes, I have. But that doesn’t change that this post is not about local vs. chains. It’s about how to support the Hill’s economy. Empty storefronts do nothing to help our neighborhood. Would I prefer a local restaurant over Qdoba? Yes. Am I nonetheless happy to see SOMETHING in that empty block of the Joule. You betcha.
@ “progress”:
actually if you were to read studies on the actual effects of gentrification – it always increases crime (riff raff)& the destruction of true community. That is why it is only loved by the out of town developers and their shills
I’d love to see the studies. Can you provide a link? Would make for some good policy-wonk reading.
I would like to clarify one thing about this article: the function of all the marketing efforts around Broadway is to bring more bodies into the stores, yes. Where those bodies come from is not really an issue. Events are about creating some sense of fun and community. Reminding the Capitol Hill regulars to shop w/ their favorite stores is just as important to us as bringing new shoppers to the Hill. The success of Broadway merchants is our number one priority in these efforts. Issues such as gentification, development and crime are all impoortant discussions to have. But these efforts on behalf of Broadway are about showcasing and supporting merchants. With some fun attached to it.
@progress,
Studies showing the correlation between gentrification and crime rates are all over the place and you are surely to find one that will agree with what you think, so google away!
There is one common denominator in every study on the effects of gentrification and that is that rich people are easy targets. For everything.
“Seems like the more business and the more “non-hill residents” that come in to capitol hill the more crime and the greater chance of Belltown-esque douche baggery there is. “
I disagree. I welcome tolerant non-pop collars that appreciate our culture and variety of people, as long as they’re not just hiking up the hill for “pussy”.
“the actual effects of gentrification – it always increases crime”
Hahahaahha, ok dude. It’s safer, but you’re basing this on a minor segment of all possible crime. There’s less crime on the whole, even if break-ins increase.
“@Vics : actually, as a CH resident for decades, I can tell you that most armed robberies, gay bashings, street fights etc have indeed always been perpetrated by non-Hill residents”
So we’ll try to not attract those.
“Yes – parking is an issue. I have the same issue when I invite friends and family to do something on the Hill, and when they get a ticket, they get really hostile.”
Your family should learn to park in a larger city and stop being so lazy.
“The more chains open up on Braodway & Pike/Pine etc, the less I will shop locall & move toward other areas of town “
Or you could continue to frequent local businesses and not push towards us only having chains :(