MDDA Announces Completion of City of Marquette Downtown Plan
The Marquette Downtown Development Authority (MDDA) is pleased to announce the completion of the City of Marquette Downtown Plan, which was formally adopted by the MDDA Board of Directors on Thursday, November 12, 2020. For nearly a year, the MDDA has partnered with the consulting firm, SmithGroup, as well as collaborators from Mission North, LLC and Nelson Nygaard, to develop a comprehensive Downtown Plan to provide a strong, unified vision for the future of Downtown Marquette.
The purpose of the City of Marquette Downtown Plan is to guide future growth and development within the downtown, serving as a foundation for future decision making within the MDDA. To that end, the plan aims to:
· Unify the community behind a common vision and set of goals and policies
· Address the desires and needs of the residents, businesses, and property owners to preserve and enhance relevant qualities of the community and natural aesthetics
· Provide recommendations to the land use pattern, which will result in a sustainable community with a diversified tax base
· Present an urban framework that helps to guide how the city makes decision regarding future development and redevelopment
· Ensure that the city remains a highly desirable community in which to live, work, and visit
· Address the status and needs of infrastructure, recreational amenities, and public services like transportation
With a strategic planning focus, the plan introduces various improvements to the physical realm including streetscape modifications, adaptive reuse of existing public spaces and facilities, strengthening connectivity to the lakeshore, and enhancing cohesion between the core downtown and Third Street Corridor. Additionally, it addresses parking and transit challenges, with an emphasis on parking management strategies and expansion of the existing public transportation and bike network systems. The plan further underscores its recommendations by identifying municipal policy and economic development strategies to adopt forward-focused thinking about the future of Marquette and concludes with a thorough action plan for implementation and opportunities for collaboration.
Community engagement was paramount throughout the planning process, which involved a series of data collection, stakeholder focus groups, analysis, draft feedback and further engagement, and a final presentation. Stakeholder participants included the MDDA Board of Directors and staff; Marquette City Commission, Planning Commission, and City staff; downtown business and property owners; and many valuable community partners.
Financial support for this plan was provided by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) program and the Marquette Downtown Development Authority.
At this time, the Marquette DDA would like to thank everyone whose participation contributed to this important initiative. With excitement, we look forward to implementing the City of Marquette Downtown Plan and bringing these strategies to fruition.