Frontline Conversations featuring Mary-Claire Burick ('15)

What


Key considerations for safely reopening businesses and neighborhoods

As COVID-19 has shuttered businesses and forced others to pivot their normal operating models, many are seeking resources and innovative ways to stay afloat. The Rosslyn BID has launched several programs to assist neighborhood small businesses, retailers, and restaurants since Virginia’s COVID-19 stay-at-home order was passed in mid-March. The #RosslynRewards program and Rosslyn restaurant directory benefit both restaurants and consumers by encouraging residents to frequent Rosslyn restaurants to earn gift cards to those establishments. The Rosslyn BID also contributed $100,000 to Arlington County’s Small Business GRANT Program, which will be reserved for Rosslyn companies.

With local governments planning for reopening and providing directives on best practices for safely reopening businesses, the Rosslyn BID has taken a proactive and innovative approach of providing customizable, individualized resources for businesses in the neighborhood. With the launch of Rosslyn Ready, a multifaceted program to support and organize businesses so they can safely and confidently reopen when people are welcomed back into the neighborhood, the BID has brought together leading businesses to provide strategic recommendations for safe reopening. Rosslyn Ready will provide customized digital resources and access to industry experts to help Rosslyn businesses create individualized strategies for reentry.

In just under a week after the program launched, 90 businesses and restaurants signed up to be part of the program. Businesses will receive specific guidance in the form of digital resources and a webinar series where they can ask questions of nationally-renowned experts, including: design and architecture firm, Gensler; design and strategy firm specializing in retail, restaurant, hospitality, and real estate solutions, Streetsense; Certified Industrial Hygienist, Hillmann Consulting; and the law firm Bean, Kinney & Korman.

As President of the Rosslyn BID, Mary-Claire Burick understands the importance of the BID’s role in bringing together services and resources for the success of the businesses. She offers a unique perspective leading a BID of a large Arlington neighborhood adjacent to Washington, D.C. and will discuss the following key points: 

● The role of Public-Private Partnerships and Place Management Organizations in urban placemaking, the success of local businesses, and safely reopening as stay-at home orders lift
● Fostering social connections for the community in innovative ways as social distancing limits in-person connections during COVID-19
● Key considerations for safely reopening businesses and neighborhood spaces related to sanitation, public spaces, events, and resources available

Mary-Claire Burick ('15) Bio.