Placemaking

Inform 

• Expert lectures    
• Community-based presentations   
• Interviews/Surveys on programming   
• Mapping of public space use per interventions  
• Urban Placemaking webinars/lectures 

Involve 

• Visioning and brainstorm sessions   
• Digital engagement – story mapping    
• Volunteer program for placemaking programs   
• Volunteer and training for public space measurement/analysis 
• Downtown Storytelling and periodic engagement on needs/wants of community   

Collaborate/Empower 

• Identification of Community Champions  
• Stewardship guide for placemaking programs and physical projects   
• Community action incubator based on placemaking principles  
• Workshops for design/build of placemaking physical interventions 
• Operation and Management of Placemaking programs by community champions 

• Privately-owned public space or vacant land temporary programming   
• Non-City of West Palm Beach owned land for public space pop up programming  
• Wellness programming  
• Environmental programming  
• Art-based programming with a focus on performance art and temporary/ephemeral art installations  
• Complementary program to residential needs 

The West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority’s (DDA) Placemaking Mini-Grants are an opportunity to build connections by, for, and with our community. DowntownWPB is home to numerous artworks, open public spaces, and a beautiful waterfront, which inspires and provides a wide range of opportunity sites for various projects to be implemented.

Flamango Vending 

Step into a world of art and accessibility at Flamango Vending! Curated by local 1909 entrepreneur Meghan McKenna, this outdoor opening night celebration on Thursday, February 29, during Clematis by Night introduces Flamango Vending—a unique vending machine featuring the works of 16 local artists creating affordable art for everyone, creating a vibrant tapestry of creativity that’s both fun and accessible. Click Here to learn more.

Kahani: A Reader’s Theater

Get ready for an immersive experience with Pranati “Pranoo” Kumar, the visionary behind Rohi’s Readery! Join us for three open workshops on March 30, July 20, and September 28 at Mandel Public Library. Pranoo brings historically marginalized communities’ vibrant stories to life through readings and interactive theater plays. An ASL interpreter will be on site to ensure everyone can join the celebration of inclusive critical literacy. Click Here to learn more.

The Fantastical Walk

Unleash your creativity with artist Mayling Pao in a series of workshops creating personal-sized paper mâché fantastical creatures! Inspired by Hispanic folklore traditions, these community art pieces will come to life in an organized walk through DowntownWPB. Three summer workshops will lead up to the grand reveal in October—an imaginative journey blending art, culture, and community. Click Here to learn more.

2025 Lantern Festival (Year of the Snake)

Join college student Lanzhi Wang on a creative journey! From October 2024 to January 2025, monthly workshops will be hosted as part of Let’s Vibe and the WPB Green Market, leading up to the spectacular Lantern Festival on Saturday, February 15, 2025. Celebrate Asian culture with traditional paper cutting artwork, lanterns, poems, and delectable Asian cuisine—a vibrant fusion of art and tradition! Click Here to learn more.

In Progress  

Traffic utility boxes are often an overlooked part of urban infrastructure and can easily be transformed with artwork to celebrate and engage our community. DowntownWPB is home to over 45 utility art boxes and this program adds to the diverse and vibrant visual landscape of the district. Currently the wide range in themes and sizes infuses our Downtown with hidden treasures.  These tokens of creativity animate our urban landscape with moments of curiosity and fascination.   

The DDA was one of the first public agencies in Florida to install art on utility boxes, with the first few completed in 2010, in collaboration with local artist and business owner Beau Meyers. Beau sourced historical photographs of Downtown from the Palm Beach County Historical Society and created hybrid images that showcase the unique appeal and excitement of our city.   

For more information: DowntownWPB.com/UtilityBox 

October 2019 – December 2019  

Established a core group that included city workers from the Permitting and Planning & Zoning Departments, a representative from the Fire Department and DDA staff, to evaluate and provide insight into the future ordinance of Temporary Use Permitting (TUP) for the City of West Palm Beach and managed a preliminary study on its viability. Timing of this study could not be better, given that it opened the possibility of applying an emergency order during COVID-19 that followed some of the principles established through the study. The study has provided a tool for the City to pursue a future TUP ordinance at a later date. 

December 2019 – March 2020  

The West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority (DDA), the City of West Palm Beach and the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) teamed up to bring new life to Clematis Street with a pop-up, innovative market and retail hub that introduced “Thoroughfare” to Downtown West Palm Beach.   

With a full design, build-out, and permitting of for the pop-up was created for the winners of the 12X12 contest. The first seven merchants sold products including food and beverage, clothing, greenery and more providing that initial introduction to the Thoroughfare project, while the building construction took place. The fast turnaround of the project placed the contestants into the space in February 2020 however due to the COVID-19 pandemic the space had to close in March 2020.  

Planned in-person activities were converted into virtual opportunities to adhere to safety precautions:  

• Social Media Contest (5 weeks | 5 business giveaways)  
• Social Media Live Takeover (5 weeks | 5 businesses took over Thoroughfare social media channels to feature their takeout and delivery offerings)  
• E-commerce websites were developed for 5 businesses  

The outcome of these efforts increased the followers on social media and established a virtual presence while we waited to reopen the pop-up in the future. 

May 5, 2020 – October 10, 2020   

The Dining on the Spot program, which provided expanded outdoor dining options when indoor seating was closed early March and April, was directly responsible for keeping Downtown West Palm Beach restaurants in business. The program assisted 45 businesses within 15 downtown blocks. In addition to creating a mechanism to continue serving customers, the DDA also provided funding for equipment rental and a branded signage program for restaurants participating in Dining on the Spot. The program’s inception and continued success can be attributed to West Palm Beach’s strong leadership, beyond what other cities in Palm Beach County have done, by facilitating interdepartmental partnerships over the past several years, measuring the impact of design interventions on the number of users and stationary activities, COVID-19 social distancing and through a playbook as a companion to the City’s outdoor dining ordinance to support the private sector’s efforts.  

Based on input from restaurant owners the program had specific financial benefits: DOTS installations contributed to 25%-40% of sales throughout the duration of the program, with consistently high customer demand for the outdoor seats. This holds true even when indoor seating was allowed to resume at 100% capacity.  

For businesses with very small interior spaces (123 Datura, The Blind Monk), DOTS was a lifeline that allowed them to remain open during COVID restrictions. Without the outdoor seating they would have closed their doors and may or may not have been able to reopen once restrictions were lifted.  

 The added benefit of outdoor seating visibility has contributed to greater customer interest as a result of more customer interest in general. It has also been a great marketing tool for businesses’ printed materials, website, social media, etc.