Despite the failure to pass a Business Improvement District in the Legislature, Downtown Crossing is flourishing as evidenced by the recent openings of a $400 million Ritz Carlton Towers and H&M clothing store.

For fashion lovers and the idle rich alike, Boston’s Downtown Crossing has probably never looked as good as it has in recent weeks. Buttressing the throng of office workers who regularly flood the shopping district has been the rave-like launch of the H&M clothing store, one which occurred almost simultaneously to the opening of the $400 million Ritz Carlton Towers a few blocks south.

Given the continued investment and accompanying buzz of activity, some have questioned whether there remains a need to create a so-called Business Improvement District, or BID, for Downtown Crossing. Seen as a way of helping urban centers compete with malls by enhancing cleanliness, marketing and security, BIDs have been established in more than 2,000 communities across the country, including Hyannis and Springfield. Typically, a fee is assessed to area businesses and property owners, generating funds that then are used to hire cleaning crews and improve services and the physical environment.

Despite the success of BIDs elsewhere, Downtown Crossing has been unable to develop its version, even though majority property owners such as the Druker Co. are firmly behind the three-year-old plan. Besides a parochial battle with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, some state officials have stalled the efforts because the Hub version, unlike Hyannis and Springfield, would require all property owners in the BID district to contribute. The police group has voiced concerns that guides often hired as part of a BID would perform security duties and take jobs from them.

Filed as a home-rule petition with the Massachusetts Legislature, the Boston BID died in committee last year and has not been resubmitted. Nonetheless, backers insist the concept is not only doable but also necessary for the long-term health of the district.

“I think the area would be a much better place if we had a BID,” Downtown Crossing Association President Anne Myers said last week. “We could provide a lot more services if we had a more predictable budget.”

Others are even more blunt, including Emmy Hahn, who oversees the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative run by the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development. Hahn, who is championing the BID concept statewide, said she believes Downtown Crossing continues to struggle both on the cleanliness and security fronts, charging that “the maintenance in Downtown Crossing is disgusting” and noting there was a shooting there recently in broad daylight.

“There are certain times of day you don’t feel great being down there,” said Hahn. “With the BID, the potential is there for it to be much better and much more stabilized.”

Scattered Nature
Hahn insists the biggest roadblock for Boston has been the mandatory aspect of the proposal. The Legislature did pass a statewide option in the early 1990s that allows communities to establish BIDs, but they must allow any property owner to opt out of the plan during the first 30 days. While most agree that all owners should participate, Hahn said the payments should be voluntary, claiming that proper explanation of the concept usually sways those who are unsure it is worth the investment.

Boston “tried to shove it down people’s throats, and it can’t be done that way,” Hahn said. “You have to go door-to-door and educate people, and if you do that outreach, it’s not a hard sell.”

Easier said than done, according to Myers. The scattered nature of property owners in Boston makes it difficult to track down the representation needed to establish a voluntary BID, she said, especially given that many real estate trusts which control Downtown Crossing buildings are located outside the region. Under the state’s current law, support for a BID has to come from 51 percent of the property owners representing at least 60 percent of the assessed value in a given district.

As the debate continues in Boston, the two Bay State communities with BIDs say the opt-out aspect has not been a detriment. Hyannis BID Executive Director Cynthia Cole estimates that less than 10 percent of the property owners held back when the improvement district was launched two years ago, while Springfield BID spokeswoman Elizabeth Taras said the business district in that city has 94 percent coverage, with some 110 individual property owners participating across a 26-block area.

The chief benefit of a BID, according to Cole, is having a reliable revenue stream. Hyannis has an annual budget of about $125,000, she said, with funds used to hire street cleaners, plant flowers and add amenities such as informational kiosks, street signs and trash barrels. There has also been a substantial marketing effort, including a program that drew nearly 10,000 visitors to Main Street in Hyannis each Thursday this summer.

Cole said she believes the BID has also given Hyannis businesses a united front that allows them to lobby for such things as improved commercial zoning and increased parking. “If you have one entity speaking for you, it’s much easier to get things done,” she said.

The Hyannis BID has also been able to obtain grants, including a $2 million public works infusion from the state that will be used to make the downtown more pedestrian friendly, improve lighting, fix sidewalks and add street furniture. “If the businesses are willing to get involved in the common good, the state is more willing to help as well,” she said.

Hahn has used Cole in workshops to promote the BID model, and said she believes the program in Hyannis has already proven worthwhile.

“They’ve [BID funds] had a major impact on the area,” she said. “Issues that have been in the community for years are being addressed and being solved … I’d say it has been hugely successful.”

In Western Massachusetts, Springfield initially struggled to get the BID up and running, but Taras said she believes the group is making inroads in the two years since the launch. “We definitely have changed the perception of Springfield,” she said. “We’re getting a good surge of attention, and encouraging a lot of people to come down here.”

Springfield’s BID has an annual budget of just under $1 million, said Taras, who credits Executive Director Robert Turin with helping to get the program moving forward in the right direction. The group provides a full-time cleaning staff as well as several guides to assist in directing visitors, especially during special events. There are also new hanging baskets, increased lighting and other infrastructure upgrades.

Springfield has focused on highlighting the entertainment aspects of the community, including a Thursday concert series and a recent anniversary feting the 100th anniversary of Springfield-based Indian Motorcycles. It now also is posting office space vacancies on a Web site to help building owners lease properties.

According to Hahn, BIDs have been especially slow to take hold in Massachusetts, but there are discussions at various levels in such communities as New Bedford, Canton, Sudbury and Newburyport. There is substantial momentum in Cambridge’s Central Square, where the Central Square Business Association has been promoting the idea for more than a year.

Joining architect George Metzger and Central Square icon Carl Barron, businessman Arnold Goldstein is a strong proponent of a BID, adding that he believes it can be done on a voluntary basis. Goldstein said the backers have received solid support to date, estimating that a BID could be up and running within six months.

Central Square has been undergoing a bit of a rebirth itself recently, with new cafes and restaurants opening up, as well as a new mixed-use project that is bringing additional retail and residential units to the area. Across Massachusetts Avenue, Samuels Property Group recently completed an overhaul of the former TAD Temporaries building, with the rehabbed property featuring new retail space, a fitness center and offices for Harvard University.

“There have been a lot of positive changes, and we hope to see more with the BID,” said Goldstein. “We feel it would make Central Square more welcoming and a more successful business environment.”

Across the river, Boston Redevelopment Authority official Linda Haar said the agency remains supportive of the BID approach for Downtown Crossing, maintaining that it would accentuate the progress already being made there. At the same time, Haar said it is doubtful the BRA will spearhead the effort, explaining that the impetus will have to come from the business community.

Myers said the DCA remains committed to the idea, but said it is unclear what the group’s next step will be to get it started. Druker Co. President Ronald Druker, a DCA board member, also voiced support and insisted progress is being made.

“It is absolutely moving along,” he said. “There are very positive steps that are being taken.” When asked to elaborate, however, Druker declined, adding only that “there are a lot of people who believe in it.”