Happenings in the Heart of the Bull City
October 2022
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- News
- Event Highlights
- Biz Briefs
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- Ambassador Stories
- Clean & Safe Stats
- Meetings, Trainings & Forums
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Downtown Durham Social District Goes to a Vote Oct. 17 |
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At the Oct. 6 city council work session, city staff presented a proposal to create a social district in downtown. (Branded by DDI as The Bullpen.) Seventeen downtown business owners, residents and others showed up to share their stories and support.
Next, the proposal will be voted on by city council at the October 17 meeting. If it passes, it will take a few weeks to get signage and materials in place to launch the social district. The anticipated launch date is early December.
DDI as the designee
In addition to approving the ordinance to create a social district, the city must vote to designate an organization to oversee the management of the district. It is anticipated that Downtown Durham, Inc. will be named the designee to manage the downtown social district, and city staff will present that proposal to council at the next work session on October 20, with a final vote tentatively scheduled for November 7.
If you own a downtown business and have not yet indicated whether you'd like to opt-in or out of the social district, please complete this short form now.
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MOVE-A-BULL CITY • OCTOBER 22 |
Move-A-Bull City is Durham’s sustainable transportation celebration! Whether you’re bicycling, riding transit, using scooters, or helping solve urban transportation in other ways – come on out!
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STORYTIME ON THE ROOF •
OCTOBER 26
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Join the Durham Hotel on the Roof for Storytime with Durham County Library. Bring the family up to the open-air rooftop for stories and songs.
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The Mix at Durham Station
Start your Third Friday off right! GoDurham and DDI present The Mix with music from DJ Piddipat, 3:30-6:30 p.m. at Durham Station on October 21.
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Third Friday Art Walk & Gallery Crawl
Visit galleries and other art venues downtown and beyond on October 21 and every third Friday of the month! Find a complete list of Third Friday events, and submit your own, at thirdfridaydurham.org.
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This month's featured artwork:
Jubilant by Jenny Blazing - acrylic painting incorporating hand-painted original papers, pencil & oil pastel on stretched canvas, 36x36 inches, on view at 5 Points Gallery, 109 E. Chapel Hill St. |
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Biz Briefs highlight important information for businesses in the Downtown Business Improvement District. Items are curated by the DDI Director of Business Engagement, Tiffany Bashore. Contact Tiffany for more information about anything included in this section or for assistance, questions or concerns about starting, running or growing a business in downtown Durham.
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CAREER CONVERSATIONS: SHARE YOUR STORY WITH DPS STUDENTS |
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Durham Public Schools is looking for business owners willing to share their career stories with students. Career Conversations are one hour, virtual and a great way for students interested in your field to hear from you directly to learn how you got into the industry.
Upcoming sessions:
- Hospitality and Tourism – Nov. 9 at 3 p.m.
- Health and Wellness – Nov. 16 at 11 a.m.
- IT and STEM – Dec. 13 at 3 p.m.
Someone at DPS will facilitate the conversation and panelists will be given questions ahead of time.
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LAST CHANCE FOR CENTERFEST FEEDBACK |
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As CenterFest returned last month for the first time in three years, we would love to collect any feedback from businesses to share with the Durham Arts Council. Good or bad, we want to know how best to guide them to make this event beneficial for all of downtown. Please take a moment to take this survey and let us know how CenterFest affected your business.
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The Traffic Report Calendar lists events and happenings that may affect foot traffic and/or parking. It includes road closures and major events happening downtown.
Subscribe to the calendar or view it online for the most up-to-date information.
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DOWNTOWN VISITORS: September 2022 |
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DDI uses technology that extrapolates the number of unique visitors and visits to downtown based on cell phone data. The figures below include those who remain in the area for a minimum of seven minutes. Residents and employees are removed. The data can be filtered for smaller areas, and comparison figures are available for previous months or years. Contact Rebekah Mixon to request a custom report.
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▶ American Tobacco District
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237,800
Visits
55,487
Average Week
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160,600
Unique Visitors
Friday
Busiest Day
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7,927
Visits Per Day
7-8 p.m.
Busiest Hour
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115,300
Visits
26,903
Average Week
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64,300
Unique Visitors
Saturday
Busiest Day
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3,843
Visits Per Day
11 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Busiest Hour
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158,600
Visits
37,007
Average Week
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98,400
Unique Visitors
Saturday
Busiest Day
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5,287
Visits Per Day
12-1 p.m.
Busiest Hour
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181,100
Visits
42,257
Average Week
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114,500
Unique Visitors
Saturday
Busiest Day
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6,037
Visits Per Day
7-8 p.m.
Busiest Hour
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45,800
Visits
10,687
Average Week
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30,100
Unique Visitors
Saturday
Busiest Day
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1,527
Visits Per Day
10-11 p.m.
Busiest Hour
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▶ Government Services District
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117,100
Visits
27,323
Average Week
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71,100
Unique Visitors
Thursday
Busiest Day
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3,903
Visits Per Day
10-11 a.m.
Busiest Hour
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68,000
Visits
15,867
Average Week
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43,600
Unique Visitors
Friday
Busiest Day
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2,267
Visits Per Day
7-8 p.m.
Busiest Hour
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The following businesses recently opened or closed in downtown Durham. |
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Retail: Glass Art
118 W. Parrish St.
Contact: Marta Brassil
Retail: Stationery, Housewares
905 W. Main St.
Contact: Elyse Burns
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Restaurant: Seafood
806 W. Main St.
Contact: Matt Kelly
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Fall Ambassador Team Update: September 2022 |
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Erik Nystrom, Clean and Safe Operations Manager
My kids asked me recently what I was going to be for Halloween this year. I thought about it briefly and then told them I was going to be a middle-aged, suburban dad. They pondered that pithy response momentarily and then explained to me that it was probably best if I stayed at the house to hand out candy to all the trick or treaters instead of going with them. My plan worked perfectly.
With Halloween and the winter holidays on the horizon, your Ambassador Team has been focusing on pressure washing sidewalks and curbs throughout downtown. Pressure washing these surfaces is like putting a fresh coat of paint on something; it makes everything look new, clean and fresh.
Also, with the arrival of cooler weather a little earlier than normal, some of the leaves are already starting to fall. We will be out there to get leaves picked up as they fall over the next few weeks. This is the season where we use leaf blowers the most. Please be patient as we work to keep downtown clean and free of leaves that can cause slippery surfaces for pedestrians.
In addition, the team has been aggressive in removing illicit stickers and posters from surfaces throughout the BID, as there seems to be a much higher volume of these than in past years. We will continue to be vigilant in our response to this form of litter.
It’s a great time of the year to be outside, and your Ambassador Team is busy keeping it clean and safe for all.
I’ve included some recent pictures of the team cleaning graffiti and pressure washing sidewalks and walkways. Happy Halloween!
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Downtown Durham's dedicated Ambassador Team provides much needed clean and safe services. From sweeping and cleaning the streets, to providing directions for visitors, to jumpstarting car batteries, our ambassadors are here to help. Have questions? Just stop one and ask. Need to submit a service request? Call 919-682-BULL (2855) or submit a request online.
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Clean and Safe Service
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Trash Bags Collected
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Graffiti Removed - Paint
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Graffiti Removed - Stickers
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Customer Service (Directions, Battery Jumps, etc.)
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Panhandlers/Outreach/Social Service Referral
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August 2022
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8,650
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31
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193
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19
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20
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Oct. 17; Nov. 7, 21
Oct. 20; Nov. 10, 22
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Regular Meetings: 1st & 3rd Mondays at 7 p.m.
Work Sessions: Two Thursdays prior to Council meetings
at 1 p.m.
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Oct. 24; Nov. 14, 28
Nov. 7
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Regular Meetings: 2nd & 4th Mondays at 7 p.m.
Work Sessions: 1st Monday at 9 a.m.
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Downtown Durham, Inc.
307 W. Main St. • #102
Durham, NC 27701
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This newsletter serves the businesses, residents and property owners
We're grateful for their support of DDI and downtown Durham.
We also thank the City of Durham for entrusting DDI to provide the BID services
that keep downtown Durham a clean, safe and vibrant place.
Want to know if an address is within the BID?
SHOP LOCAL!
Support downtown businesses with the SpendaBull gift card.
Your feedback on this newsletter is welcome.
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For up-to-the-minute information on happenings in the heart of the Bull City:
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