Downtown Austin Alliance outlines construction mitigation plan and arts activation programs to support businesses and creatives

The Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) presented an organized strategy Oct. 15 to help downtown businesses, property owners and cultural producers manage roughly a decade‑and‑a‑half of major infrastructure and private construction projects.

Matthew (Matt) Geske, vice president of public affairs for the DAA, led the briefing and said stakeholders face “roughly 10 to 15 years of pretty impactful infrastructure construction,” listing work tied to I‑35, the convention center and multiple private development projects. The Alliance said it has catalogued more than 40 upcoming construction projects, roughly 9,000 planned new residential units and about 6.4 million square feet of planned office space in the downtown footprint.

DAA outlined a three‑tier approach — lead, advocate, partner — and plans to stand up an interagency construction task force that will meet monthly with city departments and other agencies (Transportation, Public Works, Austin Energy, Austin Water, TxDOT and others). The Alliance said the task force will provide block‑by‑block briefings and coordinate timing and communications to reduce surprises for property owners and businesses.

To support brick‑and‑mortar businesses, DAA described business‑support programs including marketing campaigns, temporary grants, directional and storefront signage, A‑frame signs, and a “survival toolkit” for small enterprises. The Alliance said it will track key performance indicators — foot traffic and business metrics — and host a business advisory committee and affinity groups for hotels, restaurants and tourism to maintain two‑way communication with property owners.

Vanessa Olson, vice president of communications and marketing for DAA, detailed the Alliance’s marketing and engagement tools: a downtown events calendar (about 1,100 monthly views), social‑media promotion across roughly 50,000 followers, promotions such as…