Littleton DDA outlines events, cleaning and public-art plans to NextGen Advisory Board

At a Oct. 2 meeting of the NextGen Advisory Board, Danny Westblade, a Littleton Downtown Development Authority staff member, gave an overview of the DDA’s mission, funding and programs for downtown Littleton. The presentation described maintenance and safety operations, marketing and events, a new public-art committee and the authority’s funding model.

The DDA, Westblade said, was formed in 2023 and is guided by a board selected yearly by city council. "We help make downtowns better, stronger, and more welcoming," Westblade said, adding the authority carries out a 30-year plan of development that guides its work.

The nut of the presentation was how the DDA runs day-to-day programs and raises revenue. Westblade said the district contains roughly 5,600 employees, almost 800 residential units and a little more than 400 businesses. He described three funding streams: tax-increment financing (TIF), a mill levy capped at 3 mills and grants and sponsorships the DDA has begun cultivating.

Supporting details Westblade provided included the DDA’s cleaning and maintenance logs and event metrics. He said contracted crews logged 370 sidewalk sweeping tasks and 982 individual snow-removal visits; the authority also performs pressure washing and graffiti removal in the core district. Programming highlights from 2024 included a revived block party the DDA organized with the Littleton Merchants Association that drew an estimated 14,000 attendees, 64 vendors and 65 volunteers, and a holiday-tree program that installed 34 lit trees on Main Street.

Westblade outlined five priorities from the DDA’s plan of development: (1) beautiful and welcoming downtown spaces, (2) multimodal connections, (3) clean and safe operations, (4) business support and marketing, and (5) a vibrant mix of shops and restaurants. He said the DDA manages a full-time cleaning and snow-removal schedule focused on the downtown core and is working on longer-term parking management options with the city and regional partners.

On public art, Westblade said two board members, including an artist named Krista, formed an ad hoc public-art committee. The committee has investigated sculpture programs and received a grant from the city’s Arts and Culture Board to pilot plinth-mounted rotating sculptures and to build an online, district-specific art map. Westblade said murals are limited downtown by a historic overlay but the committee is exploring ground-level and other creative activations.

Westblade encouraged board members to stay connected: the DDA issues a community newsletter and a business-focused newsletter, runs social media channels (Instagram followers rose from about 851 in January to roughly 2,100, he said), and seeks volunteers and sponsors for annual programs. He said the DDA’s proposed 2026 budget was scheduled to go to city council the following week.

The presentation closed with an invitation to board members to subscribe to the DDA newsletter and to reach out with questions; Westblade provided an email contact for the DDA.

The DDA’s presentation will be part of future board discussions as Project Downtown and other city initiatives proceed.