February 2024

Director's Message

Amanda Everitt

It's the season of LOVE! 

This month, we are witnessing incredible amounts of love being poured into our historic buildings downtown. We are watching The Shumaker on Columbus Street enjoy near-constant renovation as they prepare for commercial tenants on the first floor by summer of 2025, as well as 60 much needed market rate apartments upstairs. We aren't the only ones that think this project is transformational - this project scored the second highest of all applicants and won the Transformational Mixed Use Development tax credits (TMUD), the first time this has been awarded in Lancaster or Fairfield County. The Keller Market House, on South Columbus Street is almost finished with their extraordinary renovation that will expand their grocery area and provide more room for vendors and farmers to efficiently bring their offerings into the market. The exterior doors on the Chestnut Street side, as well as opened up windows, show us that these buildings have so much life in them left to give! We deserve nice things, and when we preserve, protect, and invest, our love for our places only deepens. 

We were incredibly lucky to celebrate with our SID property owners, business owners, volunteers, community leaders, and members at our Annual Gathering at the end of January. If you were unable to attend, please visit the link below to enjoy award-winner videos, our major donor music video (that's right, that's how we roll), and to take in the impressive accomplishments of 2023. It is worth noting that this high-quality production would not be possible without the incredible talent and support of Innerphase Video. Having a local production company of this high caliber is not something that every community enjoys.

This February, I'm falling back in love with downtown Lancaster. No matter where you are in your love affair with this town, don't hesitate to reach out to me. Sometimes love isn't easy and it certainly doesn't mean that we ignore the things that are wrong. Let's tackle issues together and grow stronger and more resilient!  

We look forward to seeing you downtown!

Welcome Alex to the DDL Team!

"I’m beyond excited to join the DDL team! Coming from a service industry background with over six years of experience as a service coordinator, I’m thrilled to bring my talents to serve my community. I’m sure you’ve seen me out and about with my company, Queens Entertainment, bringing some awesome music bingo tunes to local businesses downtown! I love running events and I can’t wait to start working on Downtown's awesome lineup for 2024! 

When I’m not planning and coordinating events, I enjoy spending time with my partner, Jim and my 2 (adult) kiddos! I love hiking, having a beer at Double Edge (to watch over my little brother and sister, Dom and Max), tending to far too many animals, and taking on more than I can handle in house projects. 

I am thrilled to work with all of you and I know I’ll see you Downtown!" 

-Alex Kirchgessner

Program and Event Manager

Shumaker Project Receives Transformational Tax Credit from State of Ohio

Shumaker Project Receives Transformational Tax Credit from State of Ohio

Urban Restorations received a tax credit of $2 million from the state of Ohio today through the Ohio Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program (TMUD) for The Shumaker project, located at 219 N. Columbus St., Lancaster.

To read the full press release, CLICK HERE.

EVENT SIGN-UP DEADLINE

Friday, February 16th

Participate in Downtown Lancaster's Shop Hop to encourage people to get out of their winter funk and come downtown to support your business, kicking off March 7th through the 9th, 2024. We are asking businesses to be creative and think of an event, special, deal, or giveaway that will encourage folks to visit you during this three day event. DDL will market this event and share your promotions!

As always, if you need help with promotional ideas, feel free to reach out to us.

We will create a Shop Hop guide (available online and distributed to participating businesses) for attendees, and when they make a purchase at your business they will ask you to stamp their guide. Once they've received at least 4 stamps, they can leave their guide with any participating business for us to pick up and will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $100 Downtown Gift Card.

Participation Fee: $25 for DDL Members or $50 for Non DDL Members (After you submit the form, we will send you an invoice for your participation fee)

Deadline to sign up: Friday, February 16th, 2024

Event Sign-Up

Be a host location for Chocolate Walk and entice people into your business to see what you have to offer. You will be included on the walking map with the description of your delectable chocolate offering. This year's event is on Friday, April 5th, 2024. 

Each attendee will check in with DDL to receive a wristband, chocolate walk bag, map, and any additional event information. Participating businesses will need to come up with and prepare 450 chocolate treats to give away; feel free to purchase or make your own chocolate (if you purchase chocolate, please shop local)! Participating businesses will also need to be open from 4pm - 7:30pm. If you're not sure what your chocolate item will be, please sign up now and we will follow up with you closer to the event.

Participation Fee: Free for DDL Members or $25 for Non-DDL Members

Deadline to sign up: March 1st, 2024

If your business is a Champion member or above, CLICK HERE to get 2 free complimentary Chocolate Walk Tickets. 

ArtWalk 2024 Artist Host Application

Destination Downtown Lancaster partners with the Lancaster Festival to host the ArtWalk each year as part of the Lancaster Festival's ten-day celebration of the arts. 

The 2024 festival is July 18 - July 27, 2024. Our goal is to provide visual artists with a platform to share their talents and gifts to enrich the lives of the community members. ArtWalk is the biggest night in downtown where the crowds reach thousands and local businesses are paired with artists for this annual opportunity. If you are hosting an artist, or multiple artists/group at your business for ArtWalk, you must submit an ArtWalk Host application.

Participation Fee: $75 for DDL Members or $100 for Non-DDL Members

Deadline: Friday, February 9th at NOON

Remember, all artists have to apply to the Lancaster Festival to be a part of ArtWalk. If you have an artist in mind, CLICK HERE for the application they need to fill out.

Bottoms Up

Help make history in your hometown!

In partnership with Destination Downtown Lancaster and Visit Fairfield County Ohio, Gay Fad Studios invites you to join them for the first inaugural Bottoms Up - A Midcentury Barware Show! 

This will be the first event of its kind in the US that will be held throughout Downtown Lancaster. We are excited for you (business owners, managers, and interested community members) to join us to learn more about this event and brainstorm collaborative ways in which you can be involved.

If you are interested in being a part of this event, please reach out to Visit Fairfield County at director@visitfairfieldcounty.org or Gay Fad Studios at gayfadstudios@gmail.com.

Save The Date

Wands & Wizards Weekend in Lancaster and beyond will be held on Saturday, August 10th, 2024. Visit Fairfield County will hold an organizational meeting for this event on Tuesday, February 13th at 9am

Location: Fairfield County District Library, 3rd Floor

Anyone interested in participating in this wildly popular event is encouraged to attend. Email Tia at info@visitfairfieldcounty.org if you have any questions.

Double Edge Brewing Presents: Women's Day Brew Collab Celebration

Dear Exceptional Female Leaders of Downtown Businesses,

Join Double Edge Brewing Co. for a collaboration that transcends the boundaries of craft beer – the Women's Day Brew Collab! In celebration of International Women's Day on 03/08/24, they invite the trailblazing women who lead our downtown businesses to come together for a free unique brewing experience!

*Due to space constraints, they can only accommodate 2 attendees per business. This is a 21+ event.

Save the Date: February 13th @ 9am-1pm

Location: Double Edge Brewing Co 158 W Chestnut St

Highlights of the Day:

• Collaborative Brewing: Dive into the art of brewing with skilled Head Brewer, Dominic, at Double Edge Brewing Co. Learn, share, and contribute. No brewing experience is necessary! 
• Networking Extravaganza: Connect with fellow female leaders from downtown businesses. Build meaningful relationships, exchange insights, and inspire each other.
• Chill Good Vibes: Enjoy a laid-back atmosphere with a delicious lunch, and of course, fantastic beer. Let the good vibes flow as everyone celebrates each other's achievements and resilience. 
• Exclusive Release: Be part of something extraordinary – witness the unveiling of their specially crafted Peach Hazy IPA Women's Day beer on International Women's Day itself!

*They understand that this is a big time commitment. Please feel free to come and go throughout the day as your schedule allows.

RSVP: To secure your spot and be part of this exceptional collaboration, please RSVP to Max at Max@double-edge.beer

Let's create history together in the spirit of friendship, empowerment, and great beer. They look forward to raising a toast with you on International Women's Day!

Calling All Women of Downtown

Female Leaders in Downtown Lancaster...

We want to feature you!

In Honor of Women’s History Month, we will celebrate the women of Downtown! 

Community members are inspired by the leadership and dedication that the women of Downtown put in every day. We want to highlight these women on our social media channels. We need your help!

Each week in March we're highlighting women in the downtown district who are paving the way for generations of women by breaking molds, glass ceilings, and economic barriers by changing the conversation circling female history makers.

If you are or know someone downtown who is a great role model and deserves to be recognized for the positive effects they have within our community, please take a moment to fill out the form below as soon as possible.

Please respond by Wednesday, February 28th to have your submission featured! 

Email Sarah Mullins at info@destinationdowntownlancaster.com with any questions.

Downtown SID Meeting

SID Board Meeting

April 9th | 3pm | 109 N Broad St, Suite 100

The Downtown Lancaster Special Improvement District Board meets quarterly, the second Monday of the month in the Chamber conference room at 4pm. These board meetings are open to all SID property owners. Please be advised that rather than the second Monday in April, due to scheduling conflicts, the next SID Board meeting will meet at 3pm on Tuesday, April 9th, 2024. Email Amanda at amanda@destinationdowntownlancaster.com with any questions or concerns.

Downtown Business Meeting

Next Downtown Business Meeting

April 11th | 9am | Location TBD

We hope you or someone from your business can join us on Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 9am for our Downtown Business Meeting.

The Downtown Business Meeting is a way for DDL to bring all the businesses of the district together. The purpose of the meeting is to provide a space for you to stay connected and up-to-date on things happening downtown. We use this time to share important information and resources to all member businesses in the district. 

You should have received a calendar invitation for these quarterly meetings. If you did not receive this please email McKenzie at mckenzie@destinationdowntownlancaster.com

Small Business Development Center

FREE Virtual Training Events

Click the link below to explore the SBDC training events that are provided at no-cost to assist you and your business, and to register for any of the trainings listed above.

Follow SBDC on Facebook by clicking HERE!