Venture Richmond News

Four Richmond Not-for-profit Marketing Groups to Merge

City of Richmond News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, March 8, 2006
CONTACT: Linwood Norman
(804) 646-0434

Mayor L. Douglas Wilder announced today that four not-for-profit marketing groups — Richmond Renaissance, Inc., Richmond Riverfront Corp., River District Alliance, and CityCelebrations — will consolidate their activities by forming a new organization as of July 1, 2006 .

"This consolidation will save the City several hundred thousand dollars each year," said the Mayor. "It only makes sense for the City to have one organization promoting its Downtown area to get the job done, instead of four organizations with four executive directors, four offices, and four budgets."

"I congratulate the leadership of these groups for their willingness to reject the status quo and transform themselves into a new entity that will work closely with the City's Department of Economic Development to promote Downtown Richmond," he said.

"I want the public to know that the Administration's ongoing cost cutting efforts don't just apply to City agencies," the Mayor said. "They apply to all organizations that seek taxpayer support from the City budget." During last year's City budget process, the City Administration encouraged the organizations to find ways to become more efficient and reduce their dependence on City appropriations. The City gave $1,570,000 to these organizations for fiscal year 2005 and $1,382,000 for fiscal year 2006.

"Downtown offers so much in terms of things to do, ranging from the 'First Fridays' art exhibits to the 'Friday Cheers' concerts, the National Folk Festival and of course, the many historic homes and museums," said the City's Chief Administrative Officer William E. Harrell. "The merger of the four groups should result in more enhanced marketing efforts for the numerous amenities that Downtown Richmond has to offer."

"Through coordinating the City's marketing efforts with a strong, private sector partner, we will be streamlining our activities and bringing a clearer focus to a very important task," said Bill Jabjiniak, director of the City's Department of Economic Development.

Chairpersons of each of the organizations strongly support the consolidation, which has been in the planning stages for the last eight months.

"The new organization will be more efficient, more effective and will provide a greater return on investment for the City and for the many corporate contributors who care so much about the future of our city," said C.T. Hill, Chair of Richmond Renaissance.

"I have always thought that Richmond could do a much better job of marketing itself, and I believe we're finally going to have the strong, unified organization that can maximize our great potential," Andy Thornton, Chair of River District Alliance, said.

"By creating a strong advocate organization that represents the interests of the Downtown community and manages services that will make downtown Richmond more competitive, we all win," commented Mark Merhige, Chair of Richmond Riverfront Corp.

"This merger is an opportunity to leverage the creative energies of CityCelebrations with business and community leaders who are devoted to enhancing the vitality of our community," said Sarah Paxton, Chair of CityCelebrations.

An implementation team is being formed to finalize the merger. No details are available at this time regarding the name of the new organization, its staffing or annual operating budget, or its office location.

Richmond Renaissance was formed in 1982 as a public private partnership to promote economic development in Downtown. The group was a catalyst for the creation of the 6th Street Marketplace, the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park , the Riverfront Canal , and the revitalization of Broad Street . In 1994, Renaissance merged with Central Richmond Association and Downtown Richmond, Inc. to create a more unified voice for Downtown. Richmond Renaissance manages the Clean & Safe program under contract with the City.

Richmond Riverfront Corp., formed in 1991 by the City, Richmond Renaissance and the property owners along the canal, is responsible for maintaining the canal and Brown's Island , operating the canal boats, and coordinating development along the canal.

CityCelebrations, formerly known as Downtown Presents, was formed in conjunction with the development of 6th Street Marketplace to produce festivals that would attract visitors and shoppers to downtown Richmond . It was the originator of 'Friday Cheers' and also produces the 2 Street Festival, the Monument Avenue Easter Parade, River City Beerfest, and CaribFest. In 2006, CityCelebrations teamed with numerous community organizations to present the 67th National Folk Festival, which will return to Richmond for two more years.

The River District Alliance, created in 2003 to promote the Shockoe Slip, Shockoe Bottom, and riverfront canal area, promotes the retailers, restaurants and events in the River District portion of Downtown.