Starting today you may notice men and women wearing green or orange hats walking around downtown San Jose. Who are these uniformed individuals invading our downtown? They are ambassadors and members of the clean team from Groundwerx as part of the property-based improvement district (PBID). Today marked the launch of the program designed to provide enhanced cleaning and image enhancement services to improve the downtown environment. The program further aims to improve the vitality of downtown San Jose along with increasing property values in the downtown core.

Members of Groundwerx can be identified as ambassadors (green hats) or members of the clean team (orange hats). Ambassadors can be found on foot, bike, or riding Segways during peak hours. The ambassadors will provide concierge services for visitors, residents, and downtown employees, and assist in deterring crimes such as graffiti, loitering, and panhandling. Clean team members will provide premium levels of cleaning service using state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly equipment to clean and maintain sidewalks and pedestrian areas. Other projects that will come about as a result of the PBID include streetscape beautification.

The property-based improvement district was approved by downtown property owners last year and is expected to raise $1.6 million annually. Commercial and residential property owners in the downtown core area pay an assessment based on square footage. There are two levels of assessments for both the commercial and residential owners varying on whether the property resides in the basic zone or the premium zone.

For additional information about Groundwerx, contact the San Jose Downtown Association at (408) 279-1775.