Author: Downtown Anacortes Alliance

The Downtown Anacortes Alliance hosted a Planning Workshop with local volunteers and statewide experts.  We are focused on 3 goals:

1. Create a gateway for Anacortes that is inviting
2. Make the transition from car-first to pedestrian-first space
3. Celebrate Anacortes’s marine character and deep commitment to the arts

And we are planning 2 projects:

1. Refurbish the welcome arch including paint and electrical work.
2. Artistic, painted curb extensions to make crossing 10th and Commercial more fun and friendly.

We are now drawing up more detailed plans and budget and will next meet on March 10th.  If you are interested in volunteering, let us know.

Hello.  My name is Jordan Hay.  I’ve just joined the Downtown Anacortes Alliance as the Executive Director.  

My family and I love Anacortes.  My parents moved here 20 years ago, and my kids have grown up swimming in Cranberry Lake, shopping for holiday presents downtown, and waving flags in the 4th of July parade.  We just moved here full time, and my kids are starting 9th and 7th grade.

Before this move, I spent 24 years in Seattle working in technology leadership roles at Amazon, IMDb and Alexa. My past volunteer work has focused on mentoring women, youth and people of color aspiring to leadership roles.   I enjoy travel, reading, and hiking.   I attended Swarthmore College, where the Quaker tradition emphasized community, collaboration and stewardship, and grew up surrounded by midwestern kindness in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan.

I enjoy the passionate and kind people who make up Anacortes and I’m excited to work on behalf of this community that has already given so much to my family.   I’m joining the Downtown Anacortes Alliance as we begin to recruit partners who are excited about our mission to continue to cultivate a vibrant and and thriving downtown for all.   If you are also excited about cultivating a thriving downtown, I would love to hear from you.

The Downtown Anacortes Alliance (The Alliance) was recently awarded $3,000 to support a mixed media visual library project from the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. The total estimated project cost is $4,000.00. Funding in support of this project will allow the Alliance to begin work building a photo and video library highlighting the historic Anacortes central business and residential area. The Alliance Board of Directors will be introducing the project to local businesses, property owners, and individuals who may be interested in the benefits of sponsoring this creative visual project. The project will be ongoing throughout the month of June 2022.

The newly formed Downtown Anacortes Alliance, a designated 501(c)3, has recently received official recognition by the Washington State Main Street Program as a designated affiliate of the Main Street America program.

Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique. Working together, the Main Street America Network helps to breathe new life into the places people call home.

Main Street empowers communities to set their own destinies. While revitalization is challenging work, the Main Street program offers a road-map for locally-owned, locally-driven prosperity. Across the country, thousands of communities have used the Main Street Approach to transform their economies, leverage local leadership, and improve overall quality of life.

We invite you to visit our Contact page to connect and request more information.