RALEIGH, NC (February 19, 2019) – The Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) embarks on a new era as long-time employee Bill King becomes the first ever DRA President and CEO to be promoted from within the organization.
During King's tenure at DRA, he recruited multiple grocery stores to Downtown Raleigh as well as numerous other retailers, served on the City's Downtown Raleigh Experience Plan and Dix Park planning committees, authored DRA's State of Downtown Raleigh Report, and started a retail grant program to incentivize new shops, among many other accomplishments.
King will continue to implement DRA's new strategic plan approved by the board in June of last year. Some of King’s early priorities as he takes the helm at DRA include:
- Continuing to recruit and support local businesses.
- Finding ways to improve the diversity of our storefront businesses and advocating for a range of housing types in downtown.
- Improving connectivity and accessibility throughout downtown by aiming to make this the most accessible part of the city and region.
- Engaging and including more stakeholders, including residents, employees, neighborhoods, and the rest of the city in feeling included downtown and heard through regular meetings, communications, and initiatives.
- Make downtown’s public realm reflect its creativity through murals and public art.
- Continuing the pivot of DRA’s special events strategy to find new areas and types of activations that aren’t currently being done downtown.
- Continuing to tell downtown’s story via good data, marketing, and partnerships.
For more information and light-hearted interview with King, visit DowntownRaleigh.org/CEO.
Photos and interviews are available upon request.
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Mission of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA): Advancing the vitality of Downtown Raleigh for everyone. The DRA facilitates this mission through five goals: 1) Building a culture of authentic engagement and inclusion with Downtown’s diverse community; 2) Fostering a thriving and diverse storefront economy; 3) Facilitating strategic partnerships to produce positive, balanced activations across Downtown; 4) Improving physical connectivity and accessibility within and around Downtown; 5) Positioning the DRA as a reliable, responsive, representative, and mission-directed.