Mayor Pedro E. Segarra announced the soft launch of the “Hello Parkville” campaign promoting businesses, restaurants and events in the Parkville neighborhood. Part of a larger business and community development strategy and funded by a Community Development Block Grant, the campaign includes a new app for iPhones and Androids, the use of colorful banners and new smart phone technology known as beacons. In addition to restaurants and retail, the app will list events, entertainment and a “Deal of the Day,” a daily discount to local stores and restaurants.
“The diversity of our city, where 68 languages are spoken, is visible in Parkville and is part of what makes Hartford special, said Mayor Segarra. “From pizza to Brazilian food to hand-stitched shoes to art exhibits, Parkville has a lot concentrated in one area that you don’t often come across in our state. The idea is to make it easier for people to discover our neighborhoods, support our local businesses, and enjoy more of what the capital city has to offer.”
The campaign includes new smartphone technology, or beacons, that detect when smartphones are nearby in order to send push notifications to phones that have downloaded the app. The city will manage 30 beacons and 70 will be given to those who purchase banners. For $250 business owners, and nonprofits can have their names printed on a banner and use of a beacon for a year. Banners will be hung along the neighborhood’s major arteries starting in January and will remain year round through the lifespan of the banner. One hundred beacons will be deployed around Parkville by the end of January.
“Using the beacons and the app, small businesses can receive and transmit messages, deals, limited-time offers in real-time to their customers,” said Thomas Deller, Director of Development Services.
The Hello Parkville app is still in development stages but will grow as users increase. It can be downloaded on iTunes and Google Play. For more information, click here.
The city is considering ways to implement a similar program in other neighborhoods