2024 Year in Review

What a great year we’ve had!

Our kitchen is bustling with new food start-ups, we’ve activated the street with family events and maker activities, and we partnered with the city on a $2.13 million dollar federal grant to help continue the planning process for the corridor. In the words of the US Department of Transportation, our team has “hit it out of the park.”

We’re proud of our efforts to revitalize The Loop and we’re proud of all the successful businesses and institutions who continue to invest in our street. And with your help, we’ll have a gateway into the city that all of Columbia can be proud of.

For a full list of Loop CID projects, visit TheLoopCoMo.com, scroll to the bottom and click “Initiatives.” And for a list of all our food start-ups, visit CoMoCooks.com and click on “Food Vendors.”

We could not have accomplished these projects without help from business owners, property owners, residents, and of course, the support of City staff and government. With your help, we’re truly improving one of the key commercial corridors in Columbia.

Who We Are

The Business Loop Community Improvement District (CID) is an organization turning a neglected former highway into a street that is vibrant, safe, and welcoming—a gateway into the city that Columbians can be proud of.

We advocate for infrastructure improvements, encourage economic activity, support businesses and local makers, host events, and beautify the street with landscaping, art, and pop-up spaces.

The CID's Goals:

Create an attractive and authentic multimodal corridor.
Attract and retain diverse and innovative businesses, employees, makers, and investors.
Design a street that is safe, vibrant, healthy, and welcoming to all.
Communicate the importance of the area to Columbia.

Goal #1

Create an attractive and authentic multimodal corridor.

Planted seasonal gardens at our pop-up spaces and a new herb and vegetable garden behind our CoMo Cooks Shared Kitchen.
Continued our Loop banner program featuring designs from local artists.
Worked with city and community leaders on an I-70 Beautification Plan that will add pedestrian amenities, landscaping, and other attractive elements to the interstate exits.

Goal #2

Attract and retain diverse and innovative businesses, employees, makers, and investors.

Welcomed 52 new start-ups to our CoMo Cooks Shared Kitchen, bringing additional food vendors to the Loop.
Awarded two CoMo Cooks scholarships to start up business owners, including 6 months free kitchen time.
Hosted two Maker Markets where local makers, artisans, crafters, and cooks can sell their products at no cost.
Our markets saw about 550 attendees and featured a combined 97 small businesses.

Goal #3

Design a street that is safe, vibrant, healthy, and welcoming to all.

Partnered with the city on a $2.13 million Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods planning grant as the next step towards rebuilding the corridor’s aging and unwelcoming infrastructure. USDOT called our proposal “fantastic,” a “favorite of their team,” and said we “hit it out of the park.”
Hosted free events for neighboring families at our Pop-Up Park, such as our Sunday Fundays featuring the STEAM Bus, the DBRL Bookmobile, art activities, and flower- planting.

Goal #4

Communicate the importance of the area to Columbia.

Launched a digital campaign geared to DIYers, home improvement fans, and car enthusiasts--our largest retail clusters--with a focus on Pinterest, Reddit, and Facebook.
Continued to share our monthly email newsletter with 1230 community members, with a 35% open rate.
Logged an annual reach of 286,099 people on Facebook with 24,923 link clicks. We have over 6700 followers with the majority of them in our target market.
Communicated the importance of our USDOT planning grant and the Loop improvement project to our local, state, and federal elected officials as well as to various local organizations.
Continued to place all our CID documents online for easy public access and distributed our Annual Report and Budget to more than 460 community members for review.

Economic Vitality

Within The Loop CID, sales revenue exceeds 4.4M on a monthly basis, with peak revenue reaching 6.1M in March 2023. (All numbers shown are a cumulation of reported activity excluding automotive sales.) The value of property on the Business Loop has also risen over the last year.

FY 2025 Budget

In FY2025 we'll be focusing on increasing marketing for existing Loop businesses, promoting the three shared spaces on The Loop, hosting events at our Pop-Up Park, continuing to support small food businesses at CoMo Cooks, and importantly, working with the City of Columbia on the next steps in our Corridor Improvement Plan. We'll also be replenishing our fund balance so we're ready to go for our next big project.

For the full FY2025 Budget and supporting documents, visit our Minutes + Financials page.

Board + Staff

Michele Batye Flooring America
James Bayliss Fresh Start
Karen Geotz Dive Bar
Sara Huaco Carlito’s Cabo
Ryan Euliss Boone Electric Cooperative
Suzi McGarvey MACC/MACCLab Makerspace
Jay Rader Bus Loop 70 Properties
James Roark-Gruender Passions

Carrie Gartner Executive Director
Rae Adams Event Coordinator
Trish Sieckmann Kitchen Manager

Our entire 2024 Annual Report is available for download. We also have hard copies available so if you'd like some for your business or organization, email us at [email protected].

14 Business Loop 70 East
Columbia, MO 65203
573-443-LOOP
[email protected]

Are you in The Loop?

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything The Loop is doing for Columbia.