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2024 Replay: Milestones that Shaped Downtown Phoenix Inc.

By Haley Hoekstra • December 18, 2024

2024 has been a transformative year for Downtown Phoenix.

For Downtown Phoenix Inc. (DPI), the past twelve months can be defined by significant milestones emphasizing our mission and unwavering dedication to cultivating a dynamic and innovative urban core. We helped activate Downtown for two major sporting events, launched a new website, hosted a neighborhood tree-planting, and debuted Downtown Phoenix’s first-ever 3D digital twin.

Our contributions to both the growth and vitality of our DTPHX community are effectuated daily by the DTPHX Ambassadors and Clean + Green Teams facilitating growth on the street level, as well as our Events, Marketing, Business Development, Community Engagement teams, and affiliate organization, Phoenix Community Alliance, behind the scenes. All of whom strive to make Downtown a welcoming and clean place to work, play, and live.

Here are some of the notable milestones, events, and initiatives that Downtown Phoenix Inc. and its affiliates had a hand in activating this year:

The Footprint Center was wrapped with 2024 WNBA All-Star Game banners in celebration of the major event in Downtown Phoenix. (Photo: City of Phoenix)

Major Events

In April, the 2024 NCAA Men’s Final Four game brought over 300,000 Arizonans and visitors from across the country to Phoenix. Downtown Phoenix served as a hub for numerous activities surrounding the games, including concerts at Hance Park and the official Fan Fest event at the Phoenix Convention Center. DPI partnered with Visit Phoenix to create a handy “Know Before You Go” guide of events, activations, promos, and more for fans to enjoy during their visit to DTPHX.

Just three short months later, Downtown Phoenix hosted the WNBA All-Star game at Footprint Center. The weekend was full of exciting events like a 3x3 skills challenge, WNBA live media previews, and fan-centric fun. For the first time ever, the Footprint Center debuted a WNBA All-Star branded court. DPI created a WNBA All-Star Fan Guide, providing a comprehensive roadmap of helpful resources for fans to stay cool, be informed, and find their next stop in DTPHX.

Local Community Events

There was no shortage of fun to be had this year. DPI prioritizes activating and sponsoring events in DTPHX that engage the local community, encourage inclusivity, celebrate multicultural activities, activate public spaces, are budget and family-friendly, and drive patrons to small businesses. In 2024, DPI produced eleven events and sponsored or partnered with over twenty events in the area.

The 2024 CAN I KICK IT? event took place in Civic Space Park, where attendees gathered to enjoy live music and movie entertainment in celebration of Black History Month. (Photo: Zee Peralta)

DPI Celebrated Black History Month with CAN I KICK IT?

This February, in honor of Black History Month, Downtown Phoenix Inc. partnered with Shaolin Jazz, an event production duo from Washington, D.C., to host CAN I KICK IT? which included a live scoring of the movie Black Panther with hip hop, funk, soul, and rock music. In addition to movie entertainment, Archwood Exchange hosted its Buy Black Marketplace, featuring over 20 local vendors, including various food and shopping options.

The local community participated in health, wellness, and fitness activities provided by local businesses at the 2024 Spring (pictured) and Fall Wellness Fairs. (Photo: Zee Peralta)

DTPHX Spring and Fall Wellness Fairs

DPI produced two Wellness Fairs throughout the year, activating Civic Space Park in the Spring and Patriots Park at CityScape in the Fall. This annual event provides an opportunity for the community to take a break from the workday to experience complimentary self-care and workouts courtesy of local wellness businesses.

The 2024 Urban Wine Walk event attendees embraced the floral theme while enjoying various wines and bites from local businesses in Downtown Phoenix. (Photo: Zee Peralta)

DPI Signature Events: Urban Wine Walk and Urban Ale Trail

Both highly beloved events for Downtowners, these self-guided beverage tours through the Downtown business core offer an opportunity for attendees to try out new flavors and discover local businesses that might be outside their current restaurant rotation. The Urban Wine Walk embraced a floral theme to coincide with Spring and Mother’s Day. In the Fall, Urban Ale Trail incorporated a Rock n’ Hops theme, encouraging folks to don their best band tees while sipping, hopping, and rocking out to various live music performances staged at participating restaurants and bars throughout the urban core.

This year, Lotería was played at The Grotto at Arizona Center. Local vendors, family, and friends came out to enjoy the traditional game, food, music, and shopping. (Photo: Zee Peralta)

DTPHX Played Lotería in Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month

DPI’s annual game of Lotería was played a bit differently this year. In September, we celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by playing the traditional game of Lotería at The Grotto in Arizona Center. DPI partnered with various local businesses and individuals to produce an interactive community event, full of festivities for the whole family to enjoy, including a marketplace with AZ Mujeres Mercado, live music by local DJ duo Vinyl Vagos, the game hosted by The Funky Latina, food vendors, and a live mural painting.

VIVA PHX returned to Downtown Phoenix for a day of iconic performances, culture, food, and more staged throughout the heart of the city. (Photo: Zee Peralta)

VIVA PHX Returned to DTPHX

After a six-year hiatus, VIVA PHX's music festival made its highly anticipated return to DTPHX on October 19th!

VIVA PHX is notorious for empowering our community to celebrate Phoenix's vibrant culture and dynamic music scene with live performances from local and national artists.

The local music festival included over ten stages, seventy acts from national and local artists, and culinary experiences from local restaurants. The community came out in full force to immerse itself in the heart of Downtown Phoenix's musical renaissance.

PJs in the Park kicked off the holiday season at Patriots Park in CityScape with a free showing of "The Polar Express," photos with Santa, hot cocoa, and more fun for the whole family to enjoy. (Photo: Zee Peralta)

Celebrating the Holidays in DTPHX

Downtowners took advantage of the pristine weather of the winter months with two outdoor community events. We welcomed the holiday season by kicking off the month of December with a free holiday movie under the stars during PJs in the Park at Patriots Park in CityScape. The following weekend, DTPHX was transformed into a holiday storybook for the fourth annual Winter Wanderland, a full day of free holiday performances, activities, and festive decorations staged throughout the Downtown business core.

In addition to executing exciting events throughout the year, DPI was deeply involved in making a lasting impact on the community by creating resources that provide valuable and user-friendly information. This year, we took significant strides to address local challenges and enhance accessibility.

The relaunch of the "We're in This Together" Resource Guide provides a streamlined, user-friendly, and up-to-date resource for the community to conveniently access. (Photo: Zee Peralta)

“We’re in This Together” Individuals Experiencing Homelessness Resource Guide Relaunch

This August, Downtown Phoenix Inc. announced the relaunch of 'We're In This Together,' a resource guide for individuals experiencing homelessness, created to streamline communication between service providers and the Downtown community and provide up-to-date information on a constantly evolving topic.

In addition to the online guide and helpful diagram, Downtown Phoenix Inc. will offer a more tangible asset to the public with the debut of a community resource hub at CityScape. To complement DPI’s coordinated efforts with the City of Phoenix’s Office of Homeless Solutions, the hub will serve as a touchdown space for DPI’s dehp Outreach Navigators and DTPHX Ambassadors, the City of Phoenix’s Community Assistance Program (CAP), Phoenix Union High School District’s Onward & Upward program, Valley Metro, and the Downtown Operations Unit for the City of Phoenix Police Department.

We can make a difference daily at Downtown Phoenix Inc. and Phoenix Community Alliance with the help of our DTPHX Ambassadors and dehp Outreach Navigators, who work tirelessly to engage and counsel individuals experiencing homelessness in hopes of connecting them to needed services. In 2024, our dehp Outreach Navigators had a total of 415 positive exits in the greater Downtown area.

The DTPHX Ambassadors (left) and Clean + Green Team (right) implement services on the street level daily to cultivate Downtown Phoenix as a clean, welcoming, and hospitable place to be.

Success on the Street Level

This year was nothing short of spectacular for our Street Teams, who make Downtown shine by working daily to maintain a clean and welcoming neighborhood.

The DTPHX Ambassadors had a total of 87,100 assists, including 1,108 walking escorts, 165 car battery jumps, and 186 vehicles found throughout the course of the year.

The Clean + Green Team collectively planted 27 trees, removed 3,385 graffiti tags, and removed an astounding 115,010 pounds of garbage/debris from the streets of Downtown Phoenix.

We can’t thank our Street Teams enough for the positive impact they contribute to our neighborhood daily.

DTPHX Got a Virtual Makeover

To create a more robust and user-friendly digital experience and further improve accessibility, DPI launched a new website in November, making it easier than ever for folks to find resources and stay informed. The new look and feel of the website capture the spirit and energy of Downtown while offering many new capabilities that enhance the website’s ability to serve as a better resource and navigational tool.

Redesigned for an enhanced and seamless user experience, the updated site is a comprehensive resource for current information on Downtown Phoenix, including events, business development, things to do, arts & culture, and more.

The Flock offers volunteer opportunities throughout the year for the local community to contribute to bettering the DTPHX neighborhood through sustainable efforts. (Photo: Zee Peralta)

The Flock Beautified DTPHX

DPI’s volunteer program, The Flock, held two neighborhood clean-ups and a community tree planting this year. Together, the group diligently cleaned the streets of the Evans Churchill Neighborhood and the Historic Grand Avenue [in preparation for the Grand Avenue Festival]. With support from the City of Phoenix’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation and the Community Canopy Grant, The Flock was able to plant 24 trees on Fifth Street between Garfield and Roosevelt streets.

Through additional volunteer efforts hosted in Downtown Phoenix, The Flock had 18 completed serving dates, 731 completed volunteer hours and a total economic impact of $22,787.

Midwest Wings XL opened their doors this year, bringing the flavors of the Midwest to the DTPHX neighborhood. You can find this chicken haven nestled in the 201 E. Washington complex behind Taco Bell Cantina. (Pictured: Kiara, Owner of Midwest Wings XL)(Photo: Haley Hoekstra)

Welcoming New Businesses to the DTPHX Neighborhood

Downtown Phoenix continues to thrive as a hub of entrepreneurship and innovation, proudly welcoming dozens of new businesses to the DTPHX neighborhood this year.

Among these, several Black-owned and women-owned businesses have joined our community, further enriching the cultural and economic fabric of Downtown. With nearly 80 percent of businesses in the area being locally owned, this growth underscores our commitment to fostering diversity, supporting local entrepreneurs, and cultivating a business core that reflects the dynamic spirit of our city. As the Downtown Phoenix community expands, these new additions play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our neighborhood.

Debuted in August of 2024, the 3D digital twin (shown above) is a replica of Downtown Phoenix that will use legions of aggregated data to highlight real-time traffic patterns, zoning ordinances, air quality, prime urban heat locations, and other development-related insights.

Downtown Phoenix Inc. Debuts 3D Digital Twin

Downtown Phoenix Inc. announced the official debut of Downtown Phoenix’s first-ever 3D digital twin in August. We partnered with CyberCity 3D and Orbis Dynamics to produce a replica of Downtown that will use legions of aggregated data to highlight real-time traffic patterns, zoning ordinances, air quality, prime urban heat locations, and other development-related insights. This exciting launch was made possible with help from our affiliate organizations, Phoenix Community Alliance and Downtown Phoenix Community Development Corporation.

This tool was designed to innovate how the neighborhood is navigated and explored and has endless capabilities to enhance business development in Downtown Phoenix. We look forward to seeing how it’s used for development, sustainability, and future infrastructure Downtown.

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to making 2024 such a great year to be in Downtown Phoenix. We can't wait to see what 2025 brings!