The Geneva Business Improvement District (BID) The Geneva Business Improvement District was formed to promote an attractive and economically viable 18.5 acre in downtown Geneva. The BID office works to improve and enhance the vibrancy of the City of Geneva’s downtown area by serving as stewards of local resources to assist businesses and property owners through supporting the maintenance, operations, events and infrastructure of the district. The BID stands committed to make Geneva stand out and be the true destination of the Finger Lakes Region.

 Located on the northern shores of Seneca Lake, in the heart of the Finger Lakes Region, Geneva is approximately 50 miles from Rochester, Syracuse, and Ithaca. It is a beautiful and historic city in which to live, work, play and invest, as evidenced by the 175-plus businesses that call downtown home. Not only was Geneva voted an “All-America City” by the National Civic League, but it is also a Commercial Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The BID stands committed to make Geneva stand out and be the true destination of the Finger Lakes Region.

History of our BID

The Geneva BID was formed in 1986 (making it the second BID in all of New York State) to continue the work a group of merchants was spearheading in Geneva Downtown. The founders wanted to incorporate the National Main Street Programs focus on promoting downtowns and providing support for property owners to their existing merchant initiatives. At the time of the Geneva BID’s founding BIDs were rare but now there are currently 1,500-plus BIDs nationwide with more than 75 in New York City alone. BIDs provide important tools for cities to revitalize, improve themselves and maximize economic development for the betterment of the community.

The Geneva BID focuses on immediate projects and needs as well as longer term plans and strategies. The Board of Directors for the Geneva BID is always working to implement new strategies that prove their worth to the property owners and businesses by providing a community where people want to visit and then stay.

The Geneva BID – Who are we and what do we do?

BIDs are initially funded by downtown property owners who contribute to the BID assessment Tax. The owners pay an additional $3.25 per $1000 of their assessed property value. The 2022 median contribution of the 184 taxable properties was $466. Churches and government-owned properties are exempt from the tax. Additional money is raised through special events, grants, and fundraisers. The Geneva BID brings you events like Jingle in Geneva, The Finger Lakes Film Festival, Winter Arts Festival, as well as First Fridays in the summer. The BID's goal is to raise double the stakeholder contributions through sponsorship and fundraising in order to fund our core initiatives which are designed to help Geneva thrive.

The Geneva BID also uses these resources to deliver important services, projects, and programs that are made possible through collaboration with the City of Geneva. These projects include but are not limited to: hanging and maintaining over 200 Christmas lights and decorations; supplying, hanging, watering, and maintaining almost 100 flower baskets and more than 60 flower beds throughout downtown; removing snow from ADA ramps and side walk corners that the plows cover (think the end of your driveway) as well as salting the ADA ramps, sidewalk corners, and walking paths such as the Exchange St. Walkway; trash and garbage collection; ensuring public spaces are clean and attractive. The City of Geneva does the plowing in the winter and much of the mowing, and heavy landscape work in the summer. While the City does provide extra grant funding to the BID to help offset the costs of this maintenance, the BID is not part of the city structure and our employees are not city employees.

The Geneva BID does not provide direct grants or loans, but we work with the City of Geneva to maximize the programs they administer. The Geneva BID does promote downtown properties and businesses through a range of channels, including earned media published from Syracuse to Buffalo, social media, and tourism kiosks as well as paid and in-kind advertising for Geneva Downtown BID events.

Geneva BID vs Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce

Though the Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce and the Geneva BID both provide services and support to local businesses, there are significant differences between the two organizations. The Geneva BID is a nonprofit organization that receives its base financing through a property tax assessment and focuses solely on promoting its downtown geographical location. The Finger Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce is a customer-based, non-geographic, for-profit organization that specializes in public relations. We do work together to promote downtown businesses and initiatives as the opportunity presents itself.