The Capital Crossroads and Discovery Special Improvement Districts (SID) Board of Trustees have named Marc V. Conte the new Executive Director effective November 1, 2021.
Conte, who was selected by the SID Boards to serve as the Acting Executive Director following Cleve Ricksecker’s retirement in 2020, has been with the non-profit organization since 2008.
“Both SID boards agree that Marc offers continuity of leadership to the organizations while bringing a fresh perspective to the role of executive director,” said Tyler Steele, chair of the Capital Crossroads SID Board of Trustees. “Downtown is the heart of the Central Ohio region. It needs a leader who understands the complexities of urban issues and a willingness to collaborate with a diverse cross-section of community leaders to keep downtown strong.
“In our search for a new leader, it became clear that the Columbus community is fortunate to have a leader like Marc who has a passion for downtown”, Steele shared. “We are confident that Marc is the best advocate for the organization and downtown.”
The SIDs are associations of commercial and residential property owners that provide funding through assessments for district-wide safety, cleaning, outreach, and beautification, as well as capital improvements to the public realm. There are approximately 700 property owners who control more than $2 billion of property that include more than 10,000 residents and about 90,000 downtown employees.
“Both boards have absolute confidence in Marc’s leadership. He has continuously demonstrated his commitment to downtown and the property owners,” shared Carl Brown, chair of the Discovery SID Board of Trustees. “Marc brings a new enthusiasm to work with property owners and other stakeholders to help rebuild the future of our incredible city.”
Conte started with the SIDs in 2008 as the Deputy Director of Research, Planning, and Facilities. In that capacity, he managed the market research and tracking data as it relates to overall health of downtown Columbus and the impact of revitalization efforts. He also assisted with the planning and design of several proposed capital improvement projects in the downtown right-of-way including Nationwide Boulevard and Lynn and Pearl alleys.
Prior to his current position, Marc worked for Capitol South Community Urban Development Corporation and Columbus Downtown Development Corporation as research director and director of parking operations.
Conte oversees a combined budget of $3 million and manages a staff of five as well as the ambassador and outreach operations that include another 26 positions.
More information at the Capital Crossroads and Discovery SIDs can be found at www.DowntownServices.org.