Downtown
VDA Projects
Clean & Safe Downtown
Applications are still being accepted. A number of projects have already been chosen, but funds are still available.
Established through a City of Vancouver Community Development Block Grant and in support of Vancouver's City Center Vision, qualifying businesses and property owners can apply for a cash loan or grant mix for facade improvements and projects to increase visibility into and out of street level space.
Business Façade Improvement
Projects Priorities for Façade Improvement Improvements will be limited to the portions of the building from the street and sidewalk
- Lighting
- Painting
- Siding Restoration
- Windows and doors
All repairs will need to comply with all state and local codes and regulations pertaining to commercial building improvements.
Please note that this work requires adherence to Davis Bacon Wage Rates/Federal Prevailing Wage
Permits:
Permits for awarded jobs will be the responsibility of the selected contractor. Contractors will be required to include current Washington State sales tax (currently 8.2%) in their bids.
Light is a mandatory of any project accepted for Clean and Safe Funding. Funds can be used for lighting under awnings, inside display windows and on trees adjacent to the property, or on the storefront itself. Enhancements like these will foster a cleaner and safer downtown community. Additionally, projects accepted that have adjacent street trees will be asked to cooperate in the lighting of those trees by supplying power.
How Do I Apply?
The program is easy to apply for, with minimum red tape.
- Download and complete the application and mail it to the VDA Office.
- A panel will review all applications.
- If selected VDA will connect you with the City of Vancouver's CDBG program to get started.
Program Conditions:
- The building receiving facade improvements must be located within the project area.
- The loan to grant ratio is based on a case by case basis and loan terms will be negotiated.
- Loan amounts will vary but can not exceed $20,000 to a property owner or business owner.
The Following Are Not Eligible:
- National franchises/ for-profit corporations with multiple locations outside of Vancouver, unless the corporation is headquartered in Vancouver.
- Buildings outside of the downtown block project area. See project map
- Government offices and agencies
- Properties primarily in residential use
To Find Out More:
Contact VDA Executive Director, Lee Rafferty
811 Main Street, Vancouver, WA 98660
(360) 258-1129
DOWNTOWN EMPLOYEE OFF-STREET PARKING PERMIT PILOT PROGRAM
The City of Vancouver desires to promote downtown employee parking at off-street parking facilities, long-term metered or monthly permit parking stalls, or use alternative transportation modes such as bike or bus.
The City of Vancouver has received comments from downtown business representatives that downtown municipal garage parking rates are prohibitive for hourly-wage employees who drive their vehicles to work.
In partnership with Vancouver’s Downtown Association (VDA), The City of Vancouver is establishing a pilot parking program for downtown hourly-wage employees to gather data about their parking habits, needs, and experience.
During the pilot program period, the City of Vancouver will provide up to 20 parking permits to downtown hourly-wage employees to park at the Riverview Tower Parking Garage at a reduced permit rate. The pilot monthly parking permit fee will be set at $30.00 per month.
Hourly wage employees working in the downtown who are interested in participating should make an appointment with Vancouver’s Downtown Association (VDA) representative to receive an application and present a recent pay stub to VDA for authentication.
Participants will submit the completed and signed application and agreement forms along with the required fee payment to City of Vancouver Customer Services and receive a parking permit for the garage.
Participants in the program must complete and return a survey at the end of the pilot program period.
For more information, please contact:
Lee Rafferty |
Mike Merrill |
Turtle Place
Turtle Place is a new public plaza downtown on 7th and Main Street. Formerly a C-Tran bus stop, it is now a model of sustainability and urban beauty. Thanks to a cooperative effort led by VDA and including the City of Vancouver and C-Tran, Vancouver has a new public gathering place rich with public art and environmentally low-impact fixtures and plantings.
The name “Turtle Place” comes from Vancouver’s past. There is a good reason Vancouver is located where it is. This rich, fertile area has been a population center for thousands of years. Before the Europeans settled the area, it was a gathering place for native people, known to them as “Turtle Place.”
Turtle Place received the 2009 Award of Distinction for Public Spaces from the International Downtown Association. The annual Achievement Award recognizes the level of innovation, replication, partnerships, and impact for the project. Vancouver’s Downtown Association, in partnership with C-TRAN and the City of Vancouver, transformed an underused bus mall into an urban plaza rich with public art, lighting, seating, and other amenities. The plaza was constructed from repurposed materials as a model for sustainable practices.
Many local businesses contributed to our new plaza: Harper Houf Peterson Righellis, Group McKenzie, Tribe2 Studios, and more. Visit Turtle Place anytime and enjoy the many events now scheduled.
More Street Trees!!
Vancouver’s Downtown Association and forty volunteers fueled by a pancake breakfast prepared by Chuck Chronis and his staff planted another 37 trees in Downtown Vancouver on Saturday morning. This is the second year that the City of Vancouver and VDA have partnered to bring more trees to the city center, planting nearly seventy in all. Three varieties were added to 8th Street and Evergreen Boulveard.
The City of Vancouver has been designated a Tree City USA since 1989 and hopes to increase the city’s tree canopy from its current 19% to a goal of 28%. VDA is pleased with the green addition to the central business district. Association President Lee Coulthard, yielding a shovel and assisting one of four tree teams, said, “We know that our visitors and shoppers appreciate tree-lined streets. Trees are a gracious, welcoming element and our organization thanks the City of Vancouver for working with us to bring more lush green trees to our downtown”
Flower Baskets on Main Street
Each year VDA hangs 250 flower baskets throughout downtown. This is one of our more successful programs.
The baskets are tended by area teenagers who earn community service hours by watering the plants seven days a week for four hours each day. This partnership with the Clark County Juvenile Court Restorative Community Services Program benefits the young people and our community.
The flower baskets are supported solely by donations. It is not a City of Vancouver sponsored activity.
If you’d like to donate to this worthwhile program, please contact the Executive Director, at 360-258-1129 or email director@vdausa.org. or donate right now via paypal.
No Ifs Ands or Butts
It’s a promise kept! VDA and the Esther Short Neighborhood Association, along with volunteer help from Clark College, Clark County Juvenile Justice System, and the Clark, Skamania, West Klickitat Central Labor Council have installed 24 cigarette butt receptacles throughout Downtown Vancouver.
The promise? Two years ago, volunteers at our downtown clean up saved every cigarette butt they found on the street. Even triple-bagged, the stench from the over 37 pounds of cigarette butts was overwhelming when the bags were brought to a City Council meeting to demonstrate the need for a plan. How would we keep our streets clean and the toxic butts out of the storm water system which flows directly into the Columbia River? VDA promised to lead the charge.
These 24 poles, manufactured locally and funded first by a matching grant from the City of Vancouver and then by the donations of local businesses and citizens, are a great step in the right direction.
VDA thanks everyone who worked with us on this project. And, we especially thank the local businesses who will now be helping us keep the program “alive and well” by emptying the receptacles on a regular basis and encouraging their patrons to use them.
Generous donors include:
Umpqua Bank
Kazoodles Toys
Esther Short Neighborhood Association
Lee and Patricia Coulthard
Esther Short Neighborhood Association
Gold Rush Restaurant
iQ Credit Union
Ginger Metcalf
Norris Beggs & Simpson
Plaid Pantry
Southwest Washington Convention and Visitors Bureau
Vancouver’s Downtown Association
Waste Connections
Not only did iQ Credit Union purchase five receptacles for their property, but also provided a match of $1,500 to the first $1,500 raised for the project. Thank you iQ.
VDA, along with the Esther Short Neighborhood Association received a $1,500 grant from the Vancouver Watershed Council to continue its work to rid downtown of cigarette butts.
This effort will keep not only our streets and sidewalks clean, but our streams and rivers as well. VDA has raised $7,000 to date to purchase and install the receptacles.
Support the effort by downloading and printing off a flyer to post in your business! If you would like a receptacle or would like to donate to the program, contact the Executive Director, at 360-258-1129.
Downtown