Economic Vitality
Driving Investment and Opportunity
in Downtown Chico
PBID’s Economic Vitality program focuses on strengthening the economic foundation of Downtown Chico by helping property and business owners attract investment, fill vacancies, and improve building conditions.
A key initiative under this service area is the Downtown Building Enhancement Committee, a volunteer partnership of PBID, City, Brokers, Developers and downtown property stakeholders. The committee’s focus is to improve the appearance and functionality of downtown buildings — enhancing façades, signage, lighting, and reactivating vacant spaces.
The goal is to create a visually cohesive, aesthetically pleasing downtown environment that reflects Chico’s unique character and invites new investment and activity. The initiative advances several goals of the District Plan: enhancing downtown’s appearance, supporting active ground-floor uses, and promoting economic reinvestment.
The committee’s work includes building inventories, owner outreach, property readiness assessments, and potential façade improvement investment. Future efforts aim to develop design guidelines, marketing collateral, and potential incentives or matching funds for building improvements.
Explore the new StoryMap showcasing
investment and business opportunities:
Eligible Projects & Initiatives:
Façade and exterior improvement programs (paint, lighting, signage, landscaping), vacancy reduction and property activation initiatives, marketing and recruitment campaigns for new tenants and investors, coordination with brokers and owners to fill key properties, data collection and reporting on downtown vacancies and business mix, placemaking projects that complement economic activity (lighting, banners, art), support for collaborative incentive programs or improvement funds.
