San Jose Downtown Association

Jan. 28, 2008: Groundwerx launches cleaning and ambassaor services

Transcript of Opening Day press conference

San Jose is rolling out the welcome mat to visitors with cleaner, friendlier streets by launching Groundwerx.

Patterned after successful programs in major cities like New York, Philadelphia and Denver, Groundwerx aims to make downtown streets more attractive to visitors with a two-pronged approach of clean up and outreach.

First, Groundwerx Clean Teams will circulate through downtown on state of the art, ultra-quiet and environmentally friendly street sweeper/scrubbers. They’ll sweep up trash, scrub sidewalks and remove graffiti. Additionally, they’ll be beautifying downtown with planters, benches and even hanging flower baskets.

Secondly, a team of Groundwerx Ambassadors will canvas the downtown ready to help visitors with everything from directions to restaurant advice and fun things to do downtown. They’ll also provide extra eyes and ears on the streets for San Jose Police reporting anything out of the ordinary.

Here's what's happening

Downtown property owners agree to assess themselves up to 7.5 cents per square foot to make downtown San Jose sparkle.

By improving the downtown environment in which people live, work and play, property owners believe more visitors, customers and investors will be attracted to downtown San Jose. This coordinated effort by the newly formed San Jose Downtown Property Owners’ Association shows how much property owners are involved in making downtown better, and ensuring its success as the arts, culture and business center for the entire region. They also hope that as downtown becomes more vibrant, the value of their investment and property increases.

The funds collected enhance the level of cleaning that the city already provided.

This is an example of a public-private partnership that is successful in other cities around the country. Like the property owners, the city has invested billions into the downtown. Everyone has a vested interest and is doing their part to ensure success of the Property-based Improvement District. The city believes the San Jose Downtown Association, which now has oversight of cleaning and ambassador services, will bring a new level of cleanliness and friendliness to downtown San Jose.

Enhanced services will take cleaning to another level. By utilizing state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly equipment and techniques, Groundwerx clean teams will deliver a better product faster.

The days of noisy leaf blowing are over. The Groundwerx clean teams, under the direction of the PBID’s primary vendor, Service Group, Inc., will use versatile Applied Green Machines to sweep the streets. These sweepers use only two gallons of gas per day while producing unequaled and quiet vacuum power. The Green Machine produces virtually none of the dust that a traditional leaf blower generates, thus making the sweeper more people-friendly.

The Tenant M20 scrubbers provide a level of environmentally conscious deep cleaning that leads its industry. The M20 recycles the cleaning solution and uses less water, which results in less waste. The unit uses a NFSI (National Floor Safety Institute) certified Foam-activated Scrubbing (FaST) system that leaves sidewalks virtually dry after each pass.

The scrubbers and sweepers will make an immediate impact, but the real proof will come over time as we watch downtown sidewalk surfaces reach a new level of cleanliness.

The people who visit -- whether regularly or for the first time in a while – will be impressed with not only how clean downtown is, but how friendly it is.

As part of the enhanced services within the district, the ambassador program will provide hospitality and concierge services throughout downtown. You will notice the men and women in distinguished uniforms providing daily assistance to residents, businesses and visitors alike. Each of these highly trained individuals will be able to provide assistance in a variety of ways, such as giving directions, pointing out fun events and attractions and providing transportation information. Ambassadors can even be called upon for umbrella service during rainstorms or to accompany someone to their car after hours.

Ambassadors will also make their presence known. These individuals have been trained to serve as additional “eyes and ears” on the streets. The Ambassadors know what to look out for and where to get help. Ambassadors begin their day surveying the landscape and reporting anything out of the ordinary. They will also be on hand during peak entertainment hours on weekends and special events, providing assistance to those in need and offering a friendly smile to everyone.

We're looking for feedback

Tell us what we're doing right, or what needs to be cleaned up. Call Operations Manager Eric Hon at (408) 590-0241 or email ehon@sjdowntown.com.

Groundwerx Backgrounder

PBID budget

Almost $2 million for 2008, including $1.6 million from property owner assessments plus $335,000 from the city’s prior baseline services.

Groundwerx’s environmental commitment

Whenever practical, Groundwerx will provide services using equipment and products that have a lesser impact on people and the environment.

Use products that contain the highest percentage of post-consumer recovered material, the highest percentage of total recovered material available in the marketplace, and reduce waste in the manufacturing and use of products and packaging purchased.
Procure environmentally preferable goods and services where environmental criteria have been established by governmental or other widely recognized authorities.

To address water conservation requirements, utilization is not to exceed 30% beyond usage levels documented for 2006.

Regarding graffiti

The Groundwerx teams will augment the Redevelopment Agency and Anti-Graffiti program efforts in the downtown core by serving as additional “eyes and ears” on the streets.

Ambassadors will be trained to accurately report instances of graffiti to the Anti-Graffiti program, thus enabling the city’s graffiti-abatement program to improve responsiveness.

In addition to reporting graffiti, the clean team members will make their impact felt by covering up the smaller graffiti, which allows the Anti-Graffiti program to focus on larger issues.

This type of coordinated effort will result in a more efficient approach to solving the graffiti problem.

San Jose Downtown Property Owners’ Association

A vote of property owners, with 90 percent in favor of forming the Property-based Improvement District, was tallied by the San Jose City Council on Aug. 7, 2007.

The SJDPOA officially formed Sept. 28, 2007 and its board met for the first time Oct. 2. The inaugural 11-member board, which represents about 600 property owners, includes:

Executive Committee:

President: Chuck Hammers, Pizza My Heart (business representative)

Vice President: Dean Munro San Jose Redevelopment Agency

Secretary: Elizabeth Mattson, San Jose Downtown Residents Association (resident representative)

Treasurer: Randy Knox III, Adobe Systems, Inc.

Members:

Richard Berg, SoFA Properties

Susan Gallagher, Legacy Partners Commercial, Inc.

Cyril Isnard, Fairmont San Jose

Jim Ortbal, City of San Jose

Bill Ryan, Barry Swenson Builder

Michael Shadman, Shad Engineers

Richard Utic, Saratoga Capital

Aug. 7, 2007: More than 90 percent of owners approve PBID

Downtown property owners voted overwhelmingly to assess themselves for enhanced cleaning and other services that will dramatically improve the downtown environment.

In a mailed ballot election tallied by the San Jose City Council on Aug. 7, a remarkable 90 percent of owners representing 62 percent of all property downtown voted to form the Property-Based Improvement District (PBID).

“The election signals a strong mandate” said Art Bernstein, San Jose Downtown Association president, who co-chaired the PBID steering committee. “Now the campaign is over and the real work begins.”

PBID funding will be used to clean sidewalks, remove litter, provide colorful flowers and decorative lighting, and also for a platoon of uniformed greeters who will permeate downtown with a reassuring spirit of safety and friendliness.

The combination of services is expected to not only create a more positive impression of downtown, but also enhance property values. A recent study by the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University found that well-financed improvement districts that budget for capital improvements and security projects boost the value of commercial property within their boundaries by up to 15 percentage points over comparable properties outside the improvement district.

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