The Downtown Wilkes-Barre
Business Improvement District (DWBBID):
Creating a Better Downtown Together

On August 1, 2007, the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Improvement District (DWBBID) began providing supplementary cleaning, security, marketing, and facade improvement services to the properties and businesses of Downtown Wilkes-Barre.

After five years of operation, the DWBBID was renewed by an ordinance adopted by Wilkes-Barre City Council on July 12, 2012 following the requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Neighborhood Improvement District Act.

A Business Improvement District (BID) is a legal mechanism that allows property owners and businesses to pool resources to effectively address common concerns within a specific service area. Because a BID is based upon a multi-year commitment, it provides sustainable funding so development plans, budgets, and business strategies can be made on a multi-year basis. The cost per business is low because all benefiting properties pay their fair share.

The Diamond City Partnership manages the DWBBID, which serves an area extending from Academy Street in the south to North Street in the north. Downtown Wilkes-Barre’s property and business owners are all partners in the DWBBID: their collective investment makes it possible for the DWBBID to provide these services, and to create a cleaner, safer, and more vibrant Downtown.

During the first five years of operation, we have demonstrated that the DWBBID is an equitable means of achieving a cleaner, safer, better-marketed central city – an investment providing a positive impact upon each property owner’s bottom line.

Consider the following facts:

• DWBBID’s Clean Team has removed more than 21 tons of trash from the District’s sidewalks and doorways since 2007.
• DWBBID’s Clean Team has removed more than 800 separate graffiti tags from buildings and properties within the District since 2007; this graffiti is removed within 24 hours of being reported.
• DWBBID’s Clean Team has spread more than 5 tons of salt on Downtown’s sidewalks and handicapped ramps in order to improve the wintertime pedestrian experience.
• DWBBID has provided funding for an additional 80 hours of downtown police patrols above and beyond the Police Department’s base patrol levels each week.
• DWBBID was able to secure additional foundation monies for a dedicated Façade Grant Program that has funded 39 different projects, resulting in grants of $189,000 for improvements to ratepayer properties and leveraging more than $1,000,000 in new private investment in Downtown Wilkes-Barre. To date, each dollar of Façade Grant funds has leveraged more than five dollars in additional investment within the BID.

Now, it’s time for the DWBBID’s next phase. The DWBBID’s preliminary plan for the next six years of operation places new emphasis on business development, marketing, and promotion, while continuing to ensure that Downtown Wilkes-Barre is clean, safe, and attractive.

Click here to download the Final 2012-2018 Plan for the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Improvement District.

In March 2012, the Preliminary Plan was mailed to the DWBBID’s ratepayers, who then reviewed it at two ratepayer meetings, held at the Ramada Inn on April 12 and April 19, 2012. City Council then held a public hearing to receive additional comments on May 10, 2012. The plan was revised based on the response from the ratepayers, and a Final Plan was mailed to the ratepayers for their consideration. A formal 45-day ratepayer comment period ran from May 25 to July 9. Ratepayers approved the new plan, and it went into into effect on August 1, 2012.

Do you have questions about the DWBBID? If you have any questions, please email bidmanager@wbdcp.com .