The 1st St. Lofts thread got me thinking: why is there no marketing and advocacy group for Blue Dome business owners? Not that Sager shouldn't be able to be interviewed about it's progress, but it occurred to me that all of our districts (Brady, too . . . as well as Deco, or whatever downtown proper is calling itself these days) would be served by having an "official" information clearinghouse . . . not to mention an org or two that could cobble together ways to market them effectively.
Or is it possible there ARE these groups and I just don't know about them/they're underfunded/they're disorganized/they're incompetent? It seems to me that our downtown development is getting to a point where an extra layer of organization and focus could really help us continue to grow.
The Blue Dome Merchants Association does those types of things, and is responsible for a lot of the cool things going on there now (like the Mardi Gras parade, the new signs announcing you're in the Blue Dome District, etc.) Funny you should mention Sager, though, because I've heard he's stymied many of the things the BDMA is trying to do... and he's a member.
Quote from: dsjeffries on January 02, 2012, 10:58:29 AM
The Blue Dome Merchants Association does those types of things, and is responsible for a lot of the cool things going on there now. Funny you should mention Sager, though, because I've heard he's stymied many of the things the BDMA is trying to do... and he's a member.
Ah, thanks for pointing them out! I may just be too new to DT to know they existed but it seems they're rather quiet about themselves. The best google result I could find was the info page to the BDMA Mardi Gras parade, tagged onto Enso's root webpage here: http://www.ensobar.com/mardigras.html. It's promising an updated webpage soon but doesn't look like it's been updated in a year.
Quote from: we vs us on January 02, 2012, 11:04:49 AM
Ah, thanks for pointing them out! I may just be too new to DT to know they existed but it seems they're rather quiet about themselves. The best google result I could find was the info page to the BDMA Mardi Gras parade, tagged onto Enso's root webpage here: http://www.ensobar.com/mardigras.html. It's promising an updated webpage soon but doesn't look like it's been updated in a year.
Yeah, the next best link is to an interview with Muriel Hakim (of McNellie's Group) about the association. It too appears to be pretty old.
Quote from: we vs us on January 02, 2012, 10:44:49 AM
The 1st St. Lofts thread got me thinking: why is there no marketing and advocacy group for Blue Dome business owners? Not that Sager shouldn't be able to be interviewed about it's progress, but it occurred to me that all of our districts (Brady, too . . . as well as Deco, or whatever downtown proper is calling itself these days) would be served by having an "official" information clearinghouse . . . not to mention an org or two that could cobble together ways to market them effectively.
Or is it possible there ARE these groups and I just don't know about them/they're underfunded/they're disorganized/they're incompetent? It seems to me that our downtown development is getting to a point where an extra layer of organization and focus could really help us continue to grow.
You bring up a good point. While I do think there are various neighborhood organizations, such as the one already mentioned, and I know the is one for the Brady, they aren't really making their voice very loud, and telling us why we should live there, shop there, move our business there, start our business there, etc. This may not be a fault of their own though, as they are probably low on funding.
Hopefully this is somerhing that will grow stronger as the development continues.
As someone who is close to alot of the owners down here (I'm in the blue dome district right now) no one and I mean no one likes sagar or thinks he is worthwhile.
Quote from: jacobi on January 02, 2012, 06:30:53 PM
As someone who is close to alot of the owners down here (I'm in the blue dome district right now) no one and I mean no one likes sagar or thinks he is worthwhile.
He is a prick, and full of himself, plain and simple.
The Brookside Merchants Association is a pretty active group and carries some clout. I believe there's also a Cherry St. Merchants Association or at least used to be.