Last week this column listed the problems in Downtown Crossing—its shabby appearance, empty lots and storefronts, stores you don’t want to patronize, kid atmosphere—all of it in the historic commercial center of Boston.

I must confess I started the research on this topic with a heavy heart, thinking this district’s problems couldn’t be solved, especially with the Filene’s hole in the ground and the Hayward Place parking lot as reminders of how even supposedly talented teams of loyal Bostonians had failed.

But by the end of my investigation I was thinking if I had $70 million or so sitting around ready to invest, this is where I’d put it. The area around Downtown Crossing right now has a better chance of making a turn-around than any location in Boston.

Let me count the ways.

Downtown Crossing, where Summer and Winter streets join at Washington, is being squeezed with positive activity on all sides. The brand-new Ames Hotel and a renovated Province Street, courtesy of the Abbey Group and its new residential tower at 45 Province Street, are two major improvements on its City Hall side. In the other direction, restaurateur Babak Bina and his family last year set up Bina, an up-market grocery and restaurant at the Ritz Carlton at Avery and Washington streets. This past summer, Bina’s sidewalk dining contributed to the night-time safety of what used to be the Combat Zone.

The Ritz complex and Bina mark the end of a block undergoing significant change, not only by them, but also by Suffolk and Emerson. The renovated Opera House re-opened in 2004, and will be joined in March of this year by the Paramount Theater, renovated by Emerson College into several performance and rehearsal spaces. This fall, Suffolk University will complete its renovation of the Modern Theatre into 12-story housing for 197 students with performance spaces on the first two floors. That block will have changed from derelict to refreshingly complete.

The BRA has imposed a new sign code, and a few new storefronts already look better. Permanent residents, of which there are about 4,000, say the area is cleaner and safer. (By next fall, about 2,200 students will live there too.) Those who have recently moved to the area say they were attracted by the convenience of the T, walking to work, and the chance to live right in the middle of the other downtown neighborhoods, all of which are within 10 minutes by foot.

Long-time merchants agree that constant police presence has reduced the criminal element. Police Captain Bernie O’Rourke, in whose district Downtown Crossing lies, said there have been no incidents this year with the kids who hang out after school. His office deploys six officers and a supervisor on a daily basis to cover from Court Street through the theatre district. O’Rourke said few crimes of any sort now take place.

With downtown firms shrinking, hotel occupancy down, office towers floors empty, and the luxury residential housing market moribund, we could wait a long time for the large developments at Filene’s and Hayward Place to come to fruition. So restoring Downtown Crossing as an attractive district may be best achieved by small steps rather than large ones.

The most promising activity has sprung from Downtown Crossing’s core supporters. This combination of property owners, business owners and the Downtown Crossing Partnership has proposed that by the end of 2010 the area become a Business Improvement District, the first of its kind in Boston, according to Rosemarie Sansone, the president of the Downtown Crossing Partnership. This BID would have the authority to assess an additional 16 to 25 cents per square foot on the commercial property taxes collected by the city within the area bounded by City Hall Plaza on the north, Tremont Street on the west, Congress Street to the east, and a jagged southern line that borders the Greenway and Chinatown and includes the theatre district.

The extra funds—an estimated $5 million—would help promote the area and hire additional staff to clean and maintain it. The last BID was deep-sixed by the police, who objected to adding civilian security guards to the anti-crime effort. The police no longer object, since this proposal would place friendly “ambassadors” on the street rather than additional law enforcement, said O’Rourke.

Downtown Crossing promoters talk about welcoming new patrons who are attracted by the theaters and adding new restaurants, some small, locally owned businesses as well as chains, and more residents. Filene’s Basement, which is now in bankruptcy, may or may not return, and Filene’s hole and Hayward Place may take a few years to fill in. Meanwhile, wish these people luck. The sense of teamwork and the possibility of improvement have never looked so bright.