2023 JDDC Annual Report Recap
Jackson Downtown Development Corporation recently received news of maintaining accreditation through Main Street America and Main Street Tennessee in 2024. The Main Street America program has led the development of a national network of over 2,000 historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. Downtown Jackson has been accredited with Main Street America for over 25 years, and in order to maintain this network of resources JDDC must implement a transformation strategy through activities represented by the Four Points: Economic Vitality, Design, Promotion, and Organization. Additionally, JDDC is assessed annually on the following standards:
Broad-Based Community Commitment to Revitalization
Inclusive Leadership and Organizational Capacity
Diversified Funding and Sustainable Program Operations
Strategy-Driven Programming
Preservation-Based Economic Development
Demonstrated Impact and Results
As part of the annual report, JDDC tracks reinvestment statistics in the Downtown District. We have highlighted Downtown’s growth in 2023 below along with JDDC’s noteworthy accomplishments.
You can read the full annual report by downloading it here.
Leadership:
Director:
Beth Ann Simpson
Board of Directors
Paul Taylor, Ben Harris, Ben Ferguson, Debbie Dunaway, Lisa Garner, Ryan Porter, Regina Richmond, Keli McAlister, Terica Smith, Lauren Kirk, Kyle Barron, Logan McCoy
Design:
Sammy West, Mark Cancia, Hannah Mathis, and Lizzie Emmons
Downtown Arts District:
In 2022, Jackson’s Arts & Culture Industry generated $7.2 million in economic activity, supporting 423 jobs and generating $1.2 million in local, state, and federal government revenue. This activity largely takes place in the Downtown Arts District. In recent years, 373,000+ people came Downtown to be entertained, and the number of event attendees continues to increase.
Noteworthy Accomplishments:
In 2023, $100,000 in grants were awarded through the TNECD Downtown Facade Improvement Grant, TN Arts Commission ABC Arts Grant, Love Your Block Neighborhood, and Improvement Grant. Over 1500 participants were included in economic driven programs including: Walkability Campaign, Food Truck Friday, Lavender Trail, Holiday Passport Program, Downtown in December, and Yoga in the Park. Small businesses were supported through monthly downtown business roundtables with an average of 20 businesses represented. There were also online resources and an expanded directory. TheLOCAL Incubator has had 12 tenants since 2018 with 3 pop up tenants. Seven of those tenants have graduated to larger spaces in the Downtown area.
Thank you from the Director:
“In 2023, the City hired LRK to update the City of Jackson’s master plan and develop design guidelines for subareas including Downtown. After months of community engagement and committee feedback, we are excited to allow the final drafts to guide future work and assist in implementing next steps with local partners in 2024.
We began our facade improvement work with the first crosswalk art installation in Jackson to slow traffic at the busy intersection of Church and Main and look forward to completing this grant project in the Spring of 2024 with five buildings and five businesses directly impacted by improvements.
We implemented programs like Food Truck Friday, the Walkability Campaign, Lavender Trail, and Downtown in December to support community needs and stimulate economic activity for our small businesses. We advocated for resources for the Downtown community, establishing ourselves as a connecting piece for recruiting new growth and opportunities. We further expanded our online resources and directory to equitably market and promote our diverse ecosystem.
We hope to continue to demonstrate the value added to Downtown Jackson through an economic and community development organization like JDDC. We could not do this work without the collaboration and support of our partners across the community: theCO, especially the Communications Team, Our Jackson Home, Visit Jackson, Jackson Arts Council, LIFT Wellness Center, Jackson Energy Authority, the City of Jackson (Planning, Engineering, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, JPD, and Mayor’s Office Staff), the Greater Jackson Chamber, Downtown non-profit agencies, and our dedicated volunteer Board of Directors and Design Committee. Thank you!”
