Michigan Downtown Project Highlights

The Marquette Commons Project has been in the planning stages since 1999.  Community forums and sessions resulted in a project that is destined to be a focal point in the Downtown, City, and region. The project includes a warming/gathering facility with an indoor fireplace, public restrooms, 14,000 sq foot plaza for summer concerts and farmers market that is converted to an ice surface for winter recreational skating.  

The project has received international and statewide recognition and has resulted in over $2 million in grant funding for related projects including a contribution by the Board of Light and Power to remove the overhead wires at the project site.   

The $1.1 project is funded with a $750,000 bond issued by the DDA, a $280,000 Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant from the DNR, a $100,000 Cool Cities Catalyst Grant received from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and a $16,400 capital improvement grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Opened for skating in January 2007 the rink has become a popular destination in Downtown.  The Commons is managed and operated by the Marquette Downtown Development Authority.

For information on this project, contact Mona Lang at mlang@downtownmarquette.org.

In downtown Holland this winter, the Downtown Development Authority and the Holland Area Arts Council are co-sponsoring the second annual ReMastered banner program. Thirty-nine banners were installed in 2006; 2007 brings an additional 17. This project challenges local artists to select recognizable or classic works of art and "remaster" them slightly to reflect a Holland theme. The street banners are designed and hand painted by artists and are installed after the New Year until the Tulip Time festival in May (some remain for the festival). Besides triggering a bit of interest in art, the banners are intended to draw attention to downtown in what is typically a slower time of year.

While she was the last speaker for the Annual Meeting in Ann Arbor, she was far from the least!  Karen Keown, Economic Development Coordinator for the Kentucky Heritage Council, presents some Kentucky success stories of effective downtown marketing.