Representative Brendan Crighton and Senator Eileen Donoghue have filed an outside section of the FY18 Budget, currently in Conference Committee, that would create Community Benefit Districts (CBDs) as an alternative to Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) for communities across the Commonwealth.

CBDs are designed to support downtowns, cultural districts, historic areas, and Main Streets that require more operational support and investment than municipalities generally provide. BIDs currently only target 75% commercial or industrial areas. CBDs are intended to provide support to downtowns with a majority of residential and institutional occupants.

Gateway Cities have particular opportunity to benefit from the type of district management support (required to be a 501c3 organization) that CBDs would offer. A CBD would allow for more organized collaboration between business, non-profits, and the public sector to establish and achieve maintenance, marketing, and improvement goals.