Hillsdale Main Street – 2011 In Review

2011 was a year of learning and accomplishment for Hillsdale Main Street (HMS).  Having created the program and determined immediate priorities in late 2010, all five committees hit the new year running, hosting a multitude of events, improving the Capitol Hwy streetscape, performing a business survey that not only helped direct future business retention and recruitment efforts, but assisted current businesses greatly, improving composting opportunities for businesses, starting the website, Facebook and Twitter accounts…all while managing a list of over 190 volunteers, 64 of which are committee-level, hiring a new Executive Director, creating long-term goals for the program and learning the Main Street model.  Below, please find the highlights of 2011:

Board of Directors – As the policy makers and fiscal agents for the program, the Board worked hard to bring this new organization to life.  Employee turnover led to the hiring of Megan Braunsten as Executive Director in March.  Once everyone had their feet under them, the Board held a retreat, setting goals for all HMS work for the coming 2-3 years.

Sustainability Committee – Composting was the theme for this year’s Sustainability Committee projects.  They created a composting display for the farmers market that assisted residents to learn more about composting at home.  They began working with all Hillsdale restaurants to move toward making composting a regular part of their routine.  Finally, they assisted with all other HMS events to ensure that recycling and composting was available.

Promotion Committee  - HMS 2011 promotions were perhaps the most visible projects of the year.  With the goal of bringing many residents and visitors into the district, the Promotions Committee successfully hosted the 2011 Springfest (5,000 attendees), Movie in the Park (400+ attendees), monthly 3rd Thursday events and the joint Golden Ticket holiday promotion with Multnomah Village.  The committee also launched the HMS website: www.Hillsdalemainstreet.org, and began the branding process for Hillsdale.

Organization Committee – The backbone of the program, the Organization Committee grew the volunteer list to over 190 people, who gave over 2,800 hours of their time, helped raise over $130,000 in donations and project grants, and successfully hosted the 1st annual Hillsdale Paella Dinner.

Economic Restructuring – Two of the most heralded projects were accomplished by the ER Committee in 2011 – a Business/Customer Survey produced by a group of Community Development students from PSU, and a Trade Area Analysis utilizing the brand new 2010 Census data.  These two reports have been used widely by property owners, potential new businesses, as well as current businesses.

Design Committee – The Design Committee is charged with improving the streetscape, and in 2011 this work culminated in the addition of landscaping strips along Capitol Highway, which once planted in Spring 2012 will add color and nature to the business district, as well as new healthy street trees on the north side.  Design work also began on the Hillsdale District Design Plan, a master plan that will prioritize all physical improvements that HMS could work on for the next 5+ years.

Overall, 2011 was an exciting start-up year.  All committees are already working hard on projects for 2012.  Stay tuned…