KDP director looks back on seven strong years in downtown Kent

After seven years at the helm of the Kent Downtown Partnership, Executive Director Jacquie Alexander is retiring this week.

It’s not that she no longer enjoys the work, but after getting married in May, Alexander is moving to Yakima to be with her new husband and worries about the miles that would put on her car.

“The commute would be a little much,” she said, breaking out in a big smile.

Originally from Olympia, Alexander, 68, first started working in Kent in March 2002 when she was hired as the second executive director of the KDP, an organization dedicated to developing and promoting a vibrant downtown.

Prior to coming to Kent, Alexander worked for four Chambers of Commerce, including as the director of the Olympia and Shelton chambers.

Alexander said she fell in love with the “win-win” nature of working with a chamber to help promote a city by promoting the businesses in it. While in Olympia, Alexander said she began to realize “I can make a difference” and became “driven” to sign up new members.

“That’s when my love of the business nonprofit really happened,” she said, adding that the key was to get business owners to talk with each other and work as volunteers.

“Their involvement then is when the win-win happens,” she said.

Deciding she wanted to move closer to Seattle, Alexander jumped at the opportunity to work in Kent. When she arrived in the city, Alexander said the primary focus was on the city’s Farmer’s Market and the board wanted to return to revitalization of downtown business.

It was a perfect fit.

“It also happened to be everything I love doing; ground floor, grass roots of an organization,” she said.

Once in place, Alexander said one of her first decisions was to move the KDP’s office out of the “big red barn” on Railroad Avenue and into the Titusville Station location in the heart of downtown. Next, she began to tackle the funding issues the organization faced, creating a membership program with multiple categories and funding levels as a way to generate funds.

“I think in the first year we probably had about 100 new members,” she said. “We were doing things to get the word out.”

Alexander said she also simplified the organization with four main committees, including a promotions committee, whose goal is to remind people there’s a downtown in hopes of creating a gathering place, “Like it used to be.”

“My downtown, Shelton, was the place to be,” she said. “And all of a sudden downtowns all across the U.S. started dying.”

As for her role in the organization, Alexander said it was “constantly meeting people” and encouraging them to get involved in the organization.

“You bring in the right people and encourage them to take on assignments,” she said, adding “Our board table is always full.

“I’ve always known personally that getting people involves and having tasks and giving people encouragement and recognition makes it all happen,” she said.

During her time as executive director, the KDP has grown, but it has also faced its share of challenges. The most difficult of which, according to Alexander, was the fire that burned two buildings at the corner of Second Avenue and Meeker Street.

“We were just sick,” Alexander said. “We just couldn’t believe it was happening in our town.”

The biggest problem, however, was the reduction of foot traffic from shoppers that used to visit those buildings.

“They had five businesses in those two buildings and all of a sudden their customers were gone,” she said.

During her time in Kent, Alexander also started several new events, including the downtown breakfast hour, which is a networking opportunity for the downtown core.

“We wanted to have time where business owners, property owners and the city of Kent could all get together,” she said.

Another major change during Alexander’s reign was the construction of Kent Station, which Alexander and the KDP supported and continue to support.

“We knew in the ling run Kent Station was going to be an asset to the community,” she said.

Downtown merchants were spooked, however, and Alexander said she went door-to-door to talk to businesses about getting on board.

“It was real iffy,” she said of the city Council’s 4-3 vote to allow the project.

After several years of competing with the mall, Alexander admits it has not helped as much as she had hoped and initially drew traffic away from restaurants in the core, but continues to believe it is good for the downtown.

On the other hand, Alexander said the building of Town Square Plaza Park at Second Avenue and Smith Street was great for the downtown because it created a gathering place in the core.

“It was huge for us,” she said.

A legislative change that allows a business to send up to 75 percent of its business and operation taxes to the KDP instead of the state also alleviated funding issues and provides a considerable source of revenue for the organization.

“It turned our world around,” she said.

Looking back, Alexander said she can’t pick a single favorite moment (“There’s a lot.”) but takes pride in the creation of a viable organization.

“I so sincerely feel proud of what has been created with this organization,” she said.

As she contemplates her retirement, Alexander said she does not know how it will feel to leave Kent but knows she will most miss the people.

“Everything happens because of relationships,” she said. “It’s totally about people.”

Alexander said when she gets to Yakima she will probably join that city’s downtown committee on a volunteer basis, though she admits nothing is set in stone.

“But you know, maybe I’ll like being retired enough I don’t do that,” she said.