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Council discusses downtown vision and metrics; staff points to meals-tax and cell‑phone data for measuring vitality
Summary
Staff briefed council on defining an economic development vision for downtown and the Crescent District, showed meals-tax trends and Placer AI mobility data, and recommended choosing measurable success metrics and tools for implementation.
Town staff presented options for defining a downtown economic-vision at the May 12 work session and offered tools to measure success, including meals-tax receipts and third-party mobility analytics.
The presentation framed the downtown Business District (core historic H‑1) and the adjacent Crescent District, which recently underwent a master-plan update. Staff told the council that decisions about the downtown's future should balance "maintaining the historic character of Leesburg" with questions about whether the town seeks incremental private reinvestment or larger public investment.
Staff noted available tools and incentives: enhanced services (trash, snow removal, wayfinding), façade improvement grants, the arts-and-cultural district, a potential tourism district and use of revenue sources such as meals tax, garage occupancy and BPOL to fund downtown initiatives. "Here's one indicator: meals tax revenue — you can see the climb out of the pandemic and a dip in 2024," staff said while showing taxable-meals totals that peaked above $48 million in the downtown historic district year-to-year.
Staff also showed Placer AI mobility data that aggregates anonymized cell‑phone pings. That data indicated more than two-thirds of downtown visitors were local residents who traveled from home for destination shopping and dining; smaller shares traveled from or to workplaces. Staff suggested such data could help target marketing and assess visitation patterns.
Councilmembers asked about supporting retail with additional rooftops or corridor improvements and about the status of studies for corridor investments (Catoctin Circle and Market Street). Staff said corridor studies are under procurement and could take one to two years for completion, noting implementation of any large public investments would be a separate funding decision.
Staff recommended the council define the vision for downtown and the Crescent District, pick measurable indicators of success, and direct staff to work with stakeholders on implementation strategies. Council agreed to continue the discussion at future meetings.
