The Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) presented an organized strategy Oct. 15 to help downtown businesses, property owners and cultural producers manage roughly a decade‑and‑a‑half of major infrastructure and private construction projects.

Matthew (Matt) Geske, vice president of public affairs for the DAA, led the briefing and said stakeholders face “roughly 10 to 15 years of pretty impactful infrastructure construction,” listing work tied to I‑35, the convention center and multiple private development projects. The Alliance said it has catalogued more than 40 upcoming construction projects, roughly 9,000 planned new residential units and about 6.4 million square feet of planned office space in the downtown footprint.

DAA outlined a three‑tier approach — lead, advocate, partner — and plans to stand up an interagency construction task force that will meet monthly with city departments and other agencies (Transportation, Public Works, Austin Energy, Austin Water, TxDOT and others). The Alliance said the task force will provide block‑by‑block briefings and coordinate timing and communications to reduce surprises for property owners and businesses.

To support brick‑and‑mortar businesses, DAA described business‑support programs including marketing campaigns, temporary grants, directional and storefront signage, A‑frame signs, and a “survival toolkit” for small enterprises. The Alliance said it will track key performance indicators — foot traffic and business metrics — and host a business advisory committee and affinity groups for hotels, restaurants and tourism to maintain two‑way communication with property owners.

Vanessa Olson, vice president of communications and marketing for DAA, detailed the Alliance’s marketing and engagement tools: a downtown events calendar (about 1,100 monthly views), social‑media promotion across roughly 50,000 followers, promotions such as giveaways and gift‑card drives, a web‑based “XOXO Downtown Austin” app for exploration and a dedicated “closures and construction” page that allows users to text for construction updates (text code: ATX construction). Olson highlighted a recent pilot “Soak Up Summer” campaign targeted at businesses within a half‑mile of the convention center; the campaign attracted 13,000 landing‑page views and 51 participating businesses.

DAA also discussed practical mitigation on the ground: the Alliance’s ambassador program (staff who liaise with small businesses when contractors or closures affect storefront access), block‑level briefings for Congress Avenue and convention‑footprint outreach, and partnerships with Visit Austin and the Convention Center to promote affected businesses with banner ads and a central landing page for updates and pre‑booked parking.

Emily Reisinger, director of planning at DAA, presented the Alliance’s active urbanism programming — called DASA (Downtown Austin Space Activation) — which offers discounted short‑term storefronts and outdoor activation spaces for artists, musicians and cultural producers. Reisinger described three pilot locations (including 506 Congress and a rear‑plaza at 301 Congress) used for artist residencies, pop‑ups, markets and outdoor music. DAA reported about 7,000 participants in pilot activations and said it will expand artist residencies and incubator models in the coming year; applications and program details are available via downtownaustin.com.

Reisinger also summarized “Writing on the Walls,” a large‑scale mural program and related temporary installations, and a recent pilot called Vibe Downtown — a two‑day activation on Sixth Street featuring five community producers, which the Alliance said drew roughly 800 attendees and generated about 250,000 social impressions across platforms.

Commissioners responded with questions about coordination with a planned Downtown Strategic Initiative office and about whether more downtown residents would help sustain businesses through construction. DAA said it is coordinating with city staff and the emergent Downtown Strategic Initiative and stressed that clear, frequent communication with businesses is central to mitigation.

Speakers praised the Alliance’s outreach and business support programs during the Q&A period, and commissioners encouraged continued collaboration with city departments and community partners as construction ramps up.

Speakers (attributed in article)

- Matthew (Matt) Geske — Vice President, Public Affairs, Downtown Austin Alliance (nonprofit stakeholder)
- Vanessa Olson — Vice President, Communications and Marketing, Downtown Austin Alliance (nonprofit stakeholder)
- Emily Reisinger — Director of Planning, Downtown Austin Alliance (nonprofit stakeholder)
- Commissioner Levinson — Downtown Commission (government)
- Commissioner Veil — Downtown Commission (government)

Authorities

- other: "Downtown Austin Alliance mitigation strategy and DASA activation programs" — referenced_by: ["DAA presentation"]

Clarifying details

- Inventory cited by DAA: ~40 upcoming projects; ~9,000 new residential units planned; ~6,400,000 sq ft of new office space planned (figures presented by DAA during briefing).
- Business outreach: DAA reported 60+ stakeholders in early engagement and 51 businesses in the convention‑area pilot campaign.
- Communication tools: DAA operates a closures & construction web page and a text alert channel (text ATX construction) and a web‑based app for downtown exploration.

Community relevance

- Geographies: Congress Avenue, convention center footprint, Sixth Street, Republic Square, downtown core.
- Impact groups: small businesses, restaurants, hotels, musicians, artists, property owners, downtown residents and visitors.
- Funding sources discussed: DAA‑funded small grants (pilot), partner contributions, potential city and federal programs for business support.

Meeting context

- Engagement level: substantial presentation and Q&A; multiple commissioners commented and several praised DAA work; DAA plans monthly interagency coordination meetings.
- Implementation risk: low‑to‑medium — DAA will implement much work internally and with partners, but success depends on agency cooperation and sustained funding.
- History: DAA has run previous mitigation pilots (e.g., Soak Up Summer) and ongoing ambassador programs; the presentation built on those efforts.

Searchable_tags: ["construction-mitigation","Downtown-Austin-Alliance","DASA","mural-program","Congress-Avenue","convention-center"]

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