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Committee approves five-year renewal of Downtown Improvement District and 2026 budget
Summary
The Climate and Infrastructure Committee voted to renew the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District for another five years and approved its 2026 operating plan. DID leaders highlighted programs including downtown ambassadors, a community storage program and weekend safety ambassadors funded in part by Warehouse District Live.
The Climate and Infrastructure Committee on Sept. 18 approved a five-year renewal of the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District and the DID’s proposed 2026 operating plan and service charges.
The city’s Director of Business Administration and Public Works, Jennifer Swanson, told the committee the DID was established under Minneapolis Code of Ordinances Chapter 465 in 2008 and began full operation in 2009. The DID’s renewal notice was received in June and no boundary changes were proposed; an administrative ordinance change was proposed to reflect which department sends the notice of veto power.
Ben Shardlow, chief of staff for the DID, described the organization’s mission “to make downtown cleaner, greener, safer, and more vibrant,” and outlined its programs. He said the DID operates on assessments levied against commercial properties across about 120 downtown blocks and highlighted its largest programs: the Downtown Ambassadors, the livability team, greening and tree canopy work, paid street-performer programs and economic development efforts. Shardlow said the DID’s community storage program is serving about 540 people at any given time and has served roughly 1,000 people over the course of the year.
Dan Collison of Sherman Associates and an executive from Ryan Companies testified in support, with Collison saying the DID’s ambassador program and operations are “critical human infrastructure” for downtown and that his firm “wholeheartedly support[s]” the renewal and 2026 budget.
Committee members asked about the Warehouse District Live weekend safety-ambassador program. Jesse Osendorf, senior director of public space operations for the DID, said the warehouse-district weekends program ran Friday and Saturday nights and estimated the program’s cost to be in the range of $50,000 to $75,000 for seasonal night deployments.
Ben Shardlow said the DID has commissioned a study of operations and district boundaries and that staff will meet with Loring Park stakeholders this fall to discuss possible boundary expansion; any boundary changes would follow the statutory petition and hearing process and would take effect in a later year if approved.
Chair Katie Cashman moved approval of the renewal and the 2026 operating plan; the committee approved the two items by voice vote.
The DID renewal keeps in place the district’s service model and funding mechanism for downtown assessments and schedules additional stakeholder outreach this fall on boundary and operational questions. The DID’s annual reporting and its 2026 operating plan will be available through the city and DID materials.
