Our July 2026 Update

What an interesting last few weeks it's been.

Despite a couple of frustrating setbacks, we are planting more flowers and clearing more litter than ever before.

One highlight to share is that we now have planters at the entrances to 14 different downtown businesses or buildings. These planters are many shapes and sizes, but collectively they are helping foster a friendlier, more welcoming streetscape.

A planter outside a business is an invitation

In total, we're now up to 61 planters this season! And while most of these planters are not directly flanking entrances, we're working to grow that number by partnering with building and business owners.

It's a pretty ambitious goal, but we envision a downtown where planters grace the entrance to virtually every building or business. There are few better ways to enhance walkability and spur vitality, and we believe it's achievable at scale with buy-in and engagement.

So if your little slice of downtown could benefit from some enhanced curb appeal (and if you're willing to water 😎) give us a shout.

We didn't let this disappointment slow us down

Another interesting and evolving development has nothing to do with flowers... but everything to do with helping keep downtown beautiful.

Long story short, we've become a bit of a go-to resource for individuals looking to fulfill community service hours. Most organizations can not accommodate such requests on short notice, but because we have a ready-made opportunity (litter pickup), we've been able to turn this into a win-win situation.

As a result, by being hyper-responsive to some time-sensitive community service needs, we were able to facilitate the removal of over half a ton of litter in July alone!

Some of this month's successes

We did, however, break one of our own rules this month.Generally we focus our efforts entirely on downtown... there's never a shortage of work to be done.

But when the fine folks from the NOTA Neighborhood Association reached out with a bit of a dilemma, we decided we had to help.

So with the help of NOTA's Joe Yokajty, we tackled the medians on University Ave at Atlantic. We don't consider that downtown, but we hope you'll forgive us this once...

We planted primarily native perennials in these University Ave medians

Well that's enough for now. We appreciate you and hope you have a wonderful August.

If you're not already, please consider following what we're doing on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

In the meantime, remember... Every day is an opportunity to make our city just a little bit better.

Gratefully,

-Mike & Tina Gilbert

Please consider becoming a Downtown ROCstar by supporting our efforts with a tax-deductible gift. Every dollar is invested directly into placemaking projects that enhance our center city.