Why should I join the Watertown Downtown Business Association?
We are well into our membership drive for the Watertown DBA. A one-year membership is only $75. Every year the question comes up: why should I join? That is a great question.
The DBA is a consortium of businesses and individuals who believe in the past, present, and future of our community. We focus on making Downtown a great place to work, live, and play.
To do this, we partner with the City planning department on infrastructure improvements. These improvements help to keep Downtown safer for pedestrians and motorists. They also improve the look of Downtown, making it a more inviting place to come to.
The DBA also works to beautify the Downtown district by sponsoring seasonal decorations including supplying the City Christmas tree, flowers in planters, public art, and community clean-up days. These activities create a pleasant neighborhood.
The DBA hosts, or partners with hosts of events to bring festivals, pop-up markets, and other activities that bring people to Downtown. The increase in foot traffic through Downtown encourages new businesses to locate here and boosts the sales of established members. These events also give residents and employees a reason to get out and enjoy the area.
But I am a professional office with a small staff and our business does not rely on foot traffic, what is the benefit for me?
Another great question.
Increased foot traffic makes a Downtown safer; the more people walking around the more secure a place feels. Increased foot traffic encourages new businesses to come into the district to offer a wide variety of amenities. Current businesses will expand their offers and hours to accommodate the increased traffic. All of this improves the quality of life within the Downtown district which helps with employee and client morale. It makes working Downtown a positive experience.
Think of it like a property owner. It is easier and more profitable to rent units in a clean, safe, and active building with many tenants. Keeping up the landscaping, having a community room with scheduled activities, and filling all the apartments doesn’t do much for the individual tenant, but it improves the experience for all of them collectively. This increases the prestige of the building, and by extension, the people who live there.
For Downtown Watertown, the cleaning and decoration, the events, and the involvement all combine to create a community to be proud of.
Is that all that the DBA does?
By no means is that all.
The DBA advocates to the City and County governments on your behalf. Downtown is home to over 200 businesses and 600 households, making the District the most populous neighborhood in the City. That gives us a powerful voice in City matters, and that voice is our member’s voice. The City comes to the DBA for our advice and consent on Downtown initiatives, and we take ideas to them.
The DBA advocates for Downtown and our members to the public as well. When we market an event, or we celebrate a business, we market all of Downtown. We are cheerleaders for the Downtown district and our members. We honestly believe that we have the best Downtown in the world, and everyone should know it. And in the best Downtown in the world is home to the best businesses in the world.
But the best thing you get is the amazing volunteers that make all of this happen.
That is a lot to get for your $75 per year.