Downtown Durham businesses rally to keep special tax district

Several Downtown Durham business leaders, including representatives from the American Tobacco Campus and the American Underground, spoke out Tuesday night in favor of keeping the Downtown Business Improvement District.

Michael Goodmon, vice president of Capitol Broadcasting which owns the American Tobacco Campus, told the council that the tax district program “has been critical for what all of us have done downtown … While scope and focus might have changed, the critical mission still there.”

Adam Klein, chief strategist of the American Underground, said the program had helped improve downtown but more work needs to be done. The AU is also part of Capitol Broadcasting.

The council held a public hearing Tuesday night to discuss the so-called BID after Measurement, Inc. requested that it be removed from the BID. Measurement, Inc. owns 21 parcels of land affected by the BID.

The council took no action on the request, according to the Durham Herald Sun.

Capitol Broadcasting is the corporate parent of WRAL TechWire.