Issue: Rebuilding Our Infrastructure Section: Advisory Board
Tamara Door
President & CEO Downtown Denver Partnership 511 16th Street Suite 200 Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 303.534.6161 www.downtowndenver.com [email protected]
Tamara Door is the president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, a 55-year old business organization whose mission is to create an economically healthy, growing and vital Downtown Denver. The focus is on place-based economic development. The three primary pillars are people, place and business.
Door manages a $9 million budget dedicated to building downtown holistically. The focus is on retention and attraction of corporate headquarters and companies, urban planning and development, retail attraction and retention, public policy, transportation and housing initiatives. The Partnership also funds initiatives within Skyline and Civic Center Park to ensure they are properly developed, activated and maintained. The Partnership is funded by the private-sector. In addition, the Partnership manages the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District (BID), which is responsible for cleaning, maintenance and safety within the 125 blocks of the BID.
In addition, the organization produces popular community events that bring more than one million people downtown each year, including A Taste of Colorado, the 9News Parade of Lights, New Year’s Eve Fireworks downtown, the Southwest Rink at Skyline Park, Downtown Denver Employee Appreciation Week and many more.
The Partnership’s efforts are based on a detailed 20-year plan. The organization, in partnership with the City and County of Denver, led an18-month process to create a 20-year vision for downtown, the Downtown Area Plan. Door served as a Downtown Area Plan Steering Committee member along with roughly 50 other public and private business leaders. This inclusive public-outreach process resulted in feedback from over 2,000 individuals in the Denver community and was formally adopted by City Council in July of 2007. It is now in its implementation phase. Door serves as co-chairman of the 2027 Committee, which is responsible for driving implementation of the plan. Door was honored with the Colorado Black Chamber Strategic Partner Award. She was selected by both the Denver Business Journal and Crain’s Detroit Business as one of the Forty Under Forty in the local business community, and was included in Denver’s Powerbook List, compiled by the Denver Business Journal. She is a member of the Young President’s Organization and the Colorado Women’s Forum.
Prior to joining the Downtown Denver Partnership, Door spent eight years as the executive vice-president of the Detroit Regional Chamber, the nation’s largest regional chamber of commerce. She also served for eight years in the banking industry as a vice-president of a tri-state division of retail banking and alternative delivery systems for a national bank. Among others, Door serves on the following committees / boards: • Auraria Higher Education Center Board of Directors – Chairman • 2027 Committee – Co-Chairman • Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce Foundation – Board Member • Citywide Banks Board of Directors – Director • Metro Mayors Caucus for FasTracks – Committee Member • Coalition for SmartTransit – Executive Board Member • VisitDenver – Board Member • International Downtown Association – Board Member