Cache Maples, DBP’s Program Director and Brynn Gestson, DBP’s Operations Manager, mainly work with the Downtown Bozeman Association (DBA) arm of the Partnership. The DBA stays incredibly busy managing Membership, Events, and Marketing throughout the year.

Membership continues to grow year over year and the DBA has an amazing Outreach Committee that helps us develop our benefits and resources for members! The DBA currently has 358 business members located in the downtown core and surrounding areas.

“DTNBZN” is the well-established downtown brand that business members are proud to use and represent. Speaking of branding, the DBA has numerous branded resources including Directories and newly printed Tear-Off Maps. Additionally, downtown Kiosks, which mirror the Tear-Off Maps, are displayed in 3 key locations downtown: Chalet Sports, the Parking Garage near Revelry, and in Soroptimist Park.

Downtown Dollars, a program the DBA has nurtured for many years, continues to grow annually! 2025 reported over $100,000 in D$ sales over the holiday season – all of which go back into our downtown businesses!

Finally, the DBA hosts 15 unique annual events with over 25 occurrences. These are FREE community events, each with its own target group of business involvement and each welcoming a different customer demographic.

Summer events kick off Friday, June 12^th with Art Walks! Details on more exciting upcoming events can be found HERE.

Cache & Brynn presented the Downtown Cornerstone Business Award to Element Bozeman!

Emily Cope, the DBP’s Economic Development Director, recounted the BID’s many successes over the last year.

The Business Improvement District (BID), more commonly known as the BID, was originally established in 2000 and most recently recreated in 2020 with an expanded boundary. The BID consists of over 200 downtown property owners who pay a voluntary assessment which is used to fund maintenance and beautification programs.

The BID staff is the reason that our downtown remains an incredible place that is clean and inviting! Mike Grant, Trish Riha and Luke Petrus are the year-round maintenance employees and deserve a the biggest shout out! DTNBZN can never thank them enough for the work they do on a daily basis, and they do it ALL. They are truly the eyes and ears of downtown and know what’s happening before the rest of us. Trish, Mike, and Luke – THANK YOU for all of your hard work and for always going the extra mile! And also a shout out to Patty Silversmith who is returning for her third season of flower watering!

The BID installs over 315 flower baskets downtown each summer! Last summer completed the transition to all Earth Planter baskets. These baskets only need to be watered 2-3 times a week rather than 7 days a week, reducing labor & fuel costs and water usage.

Additionally, The BID offers streetlamp banner space for nonprofit organizations and nonprofit events in addition to our Downtown Bozeman branded banners. There has been a record number of participating organizations this year, totaling 24!

The BID is also always thankful to partner with the Bozeman Fire Department, who so generously donates their time to maintain and upkeep the "spiders". The green, red and gold spiders were replaced over the last three years. The white spider will be replaced this winter. We look forward to having the refurbished spiders shine for another 50+ years.

Emily bestowed the “Life is Downtown” Award. This award honors a person who has given a lifetime of service to downtown Bozeman. 2026's winner is Mike Grant!

The Executive Director of the DBP, Ellie Staley, spoke on the successes of the Urban Renewal District (URD).

The primary goal of the URD is to maintain an economically thriving Downtown that attracts investment, strengthens the tax base, and supports the vitality and diversity of the Gallatin Valley as its commercial, social, and cultural center.

The Urban Renewal District continues to focus on implementing the primary objectives of the 1995 Urban Renewal Plan and 2019 Downtown Improvement Plan including the following programs and projects…

First, the URD offers a variety of financial grant programs to facilitate the development of mixed-use buildings, hotels, utility improvements and residential units within the downtown district.

The URD funds the design, maintenance, and seasonal use of downtown’s public spaces, including Soroptimist Park and North Black Pocket Park. In 2024, we began snow removal in both parks, allowing for year-round access to our limited downtown greenspace. We also made significant landscape and irrigation upgrades to Soroptimist Park and added two large seasonal planters to North Black Pocket Park.

As many of you know, North Black Pocket Park will soon be transformed into the I-Ho Pomeroy Peace Park. A passionate group of community members and I-Ho’s many admirers have been working tirelessly to secure funding, and I’m thrilled to share that we’re in the final stages of confirming the design and budget. We anticipate going out to public bid by mid-June and can’t wait to build this lasting tribute to a beloved community figure—an urban oasis for future generations.

The URD continues to partner with the City’s Economic Development and Parking staff to maintain and improve downtown parking. In addition to servicing the Bridger Park Garage debt, we’ve committed to expanding parking capacity and developing smarter parking solutions for downtown employees, residents, and customers. The board recently approved $5 million toward parking supply and data tools and will soon release a 3–5 year Parking Action Plan.

This summer, we’re launching a pedlet pilot project on South Willson Avenue in partnership with Bitterroot Bistro. The URD will support the pedlet infrastructure, while Bitterroot will manage the adjacent sidewalk café. This setup will allow for expanded seating while preserving ADA sidewalk accessibility. We’re aiming to have both the pedlet and café fencing installed by late June—so keep an eye out!

If you are interested in any of the projects mentioned or any of the URD priorities or projects, please email Ellie.

Ellie then presented the Downtown Community Award. This award acknowledges a business or organization that has provided exemplary support of all that is downtown Bozeman and 2026’s winner is Bozeman Health!