DAYTON — An analysis of empty office space, greater outreach to businesses and increased efforts to draw college students to the city top the Downtown Dayton Partnership's to-do list, the group's president said Tuesday, May 6.

An office space study, expected to begin in June and take about three months, will look at such issues as office space trends and inventory, said Sandy Gudorf, president of the partnership. Gudorf made her remarks to an audience of about 115 during the organization's annual meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 33 E. Fifth St.

According to a February study by Gem Real Estate Group, a real estate brokerage and research firm, about 28 percent of downtown offices were vacant last year.

Gudorf pointed to decisions by Key Bank and Premier Health Partners to stay downtown as positive developments, but also called empty offices a "serious challenge."

In September, the partnership hopes to attract university students to the downtown through targeted marketing via the Internet, offering special events and providing information on internships, Gudorf said.

Additional plans call for the partnership to take steps to improve the Central Business District's parking, Gudorf said.

Measures aimed at making parking easier include a Web site that provides information on the location and rates of parking and, in the long term, a study of downtown parking, she said. Addressing the issue is critical to keeping the city competitive for economic development, she said.

"It's not an easy problem to solve, but we know we have to address it," she said.

Also Tuesday, local executives offered updates on CareSource Management Group's headquarters, a "green" housing development at Patterson Boulevard and Ice Street, a transit center for Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority and an expansion of art galleries in the Oregon District.

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