Hackensack Expands Special Improvement District
The expansion area will be incorporated into the current Special Improvement District, making MSBA’s services available to the more than 30 businesses located within the new area.
HACKENSACK, NJ—The Hackensack Main Street Business Alliance, the Special Improvement District organization founded to support, enhance and grow Hackensack’s Main Street neighborhood of retail, dining and business entities, is expanding its area of service for the second time since its incorporation in 2004.
Approved by Hackensack’s City Council, the expansion area, which is located along Main Street between Atlantic and Sussex Streets, will be incorporated into the current Special Improvement District, making the MSBA’s marketing, business services, and daily oversight available to the more than 30 businesses located within the new area.
“The MSBA is keenly focused on promoting new retail activity, encouraging a strong residential component thru redevelopment, and providing robust support of our existing businesses. Through these efforts, in partnership with the Mayor and City Council, property values on Main Street have risen dramatically over the past two years,” says Jerry Lombardo, MSBA chairman. “To fulfill MSBA’s vision for a new, revitalized downtown where our community can live, work, shop, dine and play, the Board had asked the City Council to further expand the southern boundary of the District, thus unifying the entire downtown.”
The Main Street Alliance’s initiatives for the District already include:
- Partnering with the Mayor and City Council to redevelop Main Street by providing input and advocating for improved city services, such as lighting, sanitation, graffiti removal, parking, transportation and storm water drainage.
- Targeted community events such as the Annual Street Festival, the Holiday Tree Lighting, Meet the Merchant profiles and various community centric-activities including public art installations.
- Street beautification initiatives highlighted by a streetscape plan that features new tree plantings, public benches and landscaping, as well as pavers, new sidewalks and pedestrian crosswalks.
- Creation and distribution of neighborhood marketing and promotional materials, such as maps and brochures and an aggressive social media network.
- Enhanced sidewalk lighting and seasonal lights.
- Public downtown plaza improvements including Atlantic Street Park and promotion of the Hackensack Performing Arts Center.
Created in 2004, the Hackensack Main Street Business Alliance is a public private partnership formed as an alliance between the business community and the City of Hackensack. MSBA’s mission is to address the issues facing the business community with the goal of improving the local economy and the overall business climate in Hackensack and specially, to improve Main Street’s retail environment by marketing the district, attracting new merchants and stimulating interest among potential retail merchants, residents and visitors. There are currently 165 commercial properties and over 300 businesses within the district.
The MSBA’s programs and services are supported by a special assessment collected by the City from property owners in the District, based on the MSBA’s budget as approved by the City Council, and then disbursed to the MSBA.