Downtown Fresno Partnership
Annual Presentation
Elliott Balch
President & CEO
Fresno City Council
November 20, 2025
What Is the Downtown Fresno Partnership?
• §501(c)(6) nonprofit association
• Incorporated 1955 as Downtown Association of Fresno
• Most of board elected by PBID property owners since 2010 • 31st Assembly District Nonprofit of the Year 2025
• Affiliated public charity: Downtown Fresno Foundation Stewardship and Activation of
Today’s Downtown
What’s the PBID?
• Property and Business Improvement
District
• Established in 2010
• Renewed in 2015 and 2022, until 2032
• 352 properties pay ~$800k/year in
assessments (~16% City)
• DFP manages as the PBID
owners’ association
• PBID = ~40–90% of DFP revenues
What Work Does the PBID Fund?
1. Marketing & Business
Development
2. Clean, Safe &
Hospitable
3. Event Activation
• Social media and
website: engagement,
image, news alerts,
things to do
• Business promotions
• Tenant development
• Daily Ambassador
presence in the field
• Nightly private security
patrols
• Response to calls for
assistance
• Total attendance
~100,000
• Annual special events:
Fiestas Patrias,
Christmas Parade
• Season-long series:
Market on Kern,
CartHop
515K
INSTAGRAM REACH
1.1M
FACEBOOK VIEWS
41 NEWSLETTERS & PRESS
RELEASES SENT
30% INCREASE
IN WEBSITE USERS
56 HIRED
& COUNTING!
YJCP/Ambassadors
11 NEW BUSINESSES
75 DFP EVENT DAYS
Ice Rink:
RETURNED AFTER
10 YEARS WITH
11,268
TICKETED SKATERS
160
SKATE SESSIONS
• Graffiti Cleanup × 897
• Pressure Washing × 269
• Hazardous Waste Cleanup × 118
• Trash Bag Pickup × 1,792
• Window Washing × 130
• Hospitality/Directions × 544
• Car Batteries Charged × 10
PD & PRIVATE
SECURITY REPORTS
SHOW CRIME
TRENDING DOWN
FROM 2023
See the full
report here!
Annual Report Highlights: 2024
Helping Create the
Downtown of the Future
DFP Mission and Role
To facilitate collective action by
property and business owners to
take on Downtown’s challenges
and create new opportunities
together.
Vision: A Great Downtown
A place where lots of
different things happen:
• Economic productivity
• Livability, walkability
• Culture, history, identity
The magic is in the
mixing!
Vision: A Great Downtown
Live Work Play
• Goal: Thousands more
residents means more
people on sidewalks
• Needed infrastructure is
happening, to reduce cost
• New garages unlock land
for dense development
• The natural place for
innovation-driven
employers and initiatives
• …leading to more
university-driven
innovation to the Valley
economy
• Good reason to have your
office downtown or ride
HSR from Merced,
Bakersfield
• Immediate activation
through events
• Direct support for small
businesses and small
spaces
• Organizing properties
along Fulton St to develop
and fill over 350,000 sf of
vacant space
• Great reason to ride HSR
from Merced, Bakersfield
Areas for Collective Action and DFP Focus
• Grow & Diversify the Economy
• Occupancy, foot traffic, sm biz growth, university role, support residential • Activate & Celebrate Downtown Spaces
• >120 event days, recurrence, other organizers, block scale, Ent Zone, the arts • Enhance the Downtown Experience
• Ongoing patrols & coordination, possible Welcome Ctr., shared trash facilities • Build Capacity for Inclusive Growth
• Youth Jobs Corps, Merchant Accelerator, Downtown Academy, data sharing • Expand Awareness & Engagement
• Broaden digital reach, welcome new visitors, advocacy • Strengthen Organizational Sustainability
• Diversified funding, improving internal processes, good data, 2032 renewal Questions?
Elliott Balch
President & CEO
[email protected]
(559) 977–5372 mobile