Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By ZACHARY MARANO
Ironwood — The Downtown Ironwood Development Authority held an initial meeting on Thursday with the Grand Rapids-based firm McKenna for the preparation of a downtown development plan and the re-establishment of a tax increment financing district for downtown.
When he asked the Ironwood City Commission to authorize the agreement with McKenna in February, Director of Community Development Tom Bergman said that the downtown development plan and TIF district were priorities for the DIDA, Ironwood Economic Development Corporation and the planning commission.
McKenna Senior Planner Danielle Bouchard attended the meeting via Zoom. Most of the project will be completed virtually, but Bouchard said that McKenna Vice President Paul Lippens will visit downtown Ironwood this summer to discuss the project.
Bouchard said that in general, a downtown development and TIF plan identifies tangible projects they can accomplish over the next 20-30 years, where they are located, how much they will cost and how they will be paid for. She said McKenna’s goals are to “define an aspirational future direction” for Ironwood and “articulate an attainable direction for near- and mid-term projects.”
As part of their goal-setting process, Bouchard shared the results of a community snapshot survey that the city of Ironwood shared on Facebook some time ago. This survey had 192 responses — 5% of Ironwood’s total population over 18 years old.
Drawing from these responses, Bouchard said that downtown visitors would like to see façade and storefront improvements; more community events such as festivals and live music; more businesses, business diversity and business incubators; public art and bike racks; and enhanced sidewalk network and walkability.
The survey also asked respondents to rank four goals for downtown Ironwood. According to the responses, the most important goal was to foster strategic redevelopment partnerships for building businesses. In order of importance, the other three goals were to enhance the unique character of downtown; promote and market downtown; and to build community connections and ensure a sustainable economy.
When asked what should be created in downtown Ironwood, respondents said they would like to see more outdoor seating and dining opportunities, more community events and festivals, more housing and bike trails and bike lanes.
Bouchard said that the survey found that public parking is not an issue in downtown Ironwood, with more than 60% of respondents able to find parking immediately or in less than five minutes. However, DIDA members noted that signage for parking could be improved. Historic Ironwood Theatre Operations Manager Bruce Greenhill said some theatergoers don’t know there is a parking lot on the corner of McLeod Avenue and Suffolk Street.
After the presentation on the survey, Bouchard asked the DIDA what projects they would like to include in the plan. Besides parking signage, members agreed that housing options need to be improved. Bouchard said they will be able to leverage TIF dollars to additional grant opportunities for redevelopment efforts.
Bouchard also said that they can address downtown vacant buildings and commercial sites through the plan, saying they can explore grant opportunities through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and its Redevelopment Ready Communities program for this purpose.
Moving forward with these goals in mind, Bouchard said the next step in the project will be the creation of a Development Area Citizen’s District Council, which is federally mandated when there are more than 100 residents in the development area. Bouchard said the DACDC should be a group of interested residents who will have one public meeting and provide feedback on the plan.
Also during the meeting, Ironwood Area Chamber of Commerce Director Michael Meyer reported that the chamber printed a new guide of artists, musicians, sculptors and other members of the art community. He said that the goal of the guide was to promote the arts without putting a financial burden on the artists. The guide can be picked up at the chamber and the Downtown Art Place. Meyers said they plan to put out another art guide with more artists in 2023.
