A Community Vision Session has been scheduled as part of the City of Michigan City’s participation in the Indiana Downtown® program. The Community Vision Session will be held on Monday, March 18 at 7pm in the Emergency Operations Center in the lower level of City Hall, 100 E. Michigan Blvd. and the entire community is encouraged to attend. The Community Vision Session is part of a series of meetings that will be held by downtown experts HyettPalma to define Michigan City’s Downtown Action Agenda. Community input is vital since it will serve as a foundation for the development of an economic enhancement strategy for downtown.
Recently, Mayor Meer stated “Indiana Downtown® is an inclusive process that brings together local officials, community leaders, business leaders, and residents. This process builds consensus and kindles valuable partnerships, which are essential to further improve our downtown and its economy.” The session will be moderated by downtown experts HyettPalma. Those attending the Community Vision Session are asked to come prepared to answer the following questions:
× If the citizens, the business community, and the government were to work together over the next 5 years to make downtown the very best it could be, what would you like to see result from that effort?
× For you to consider those efforts a success, what would downtown look like in five years?
× What would the property and buildings in downtown be used for?
× Who would the customers and users of our successful downtown be in 5 years?
× What kinds of goods and services would you be able to find here?
× What is the image you want downtown to have five years from now?
The City of Michigan City’s participation in the Indiana Downtown® program will result in a Downtown Action Agenda, which is an economic enhancement strategy designed to improve downtown’s economy. The Downtown Action Agenda will include the community’s vision of downtown’s future; a market analysis completed by HyettPalma, which quantifies downtown’s retail, office, and housing potentials; a recommended course of action to be implemented over the next 5 years by the private and public sectors; and management recommendations regarding a Downtown Partnership and funding.
Indiana Downtown® is offered by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns in partnership with HyettPalma, Inc. Indiana Downtown® is based on the highly successful America Downtown® technical assistance program, which was created in 1992 by the National League of Cities and HyettPalma. IACT is the first state league in the U.S. to replicate that program and offer it at the state level.
For more information, contact Craig Phillips, Planning Director at 219-873-1419 or email cphillips@emichigancity.com