DDA highlights new mural, playground and entrepreneurial plan funded in part by MEDC grant
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
The DDA celebrated ribbon-cuttings for a MEDC vibrancy grant-funded mural and a new Library Square playground, and Jay outlined plans to use remaining grant dollars before a May 1 deadline and to build an online entrepreneurial resource hub.
Jay, the DDA's Main Street director, told the board the downtown mural (Maumee Street Taproom and the Strongback Building) and the Library Square playground were recently celebrated with ribbon-cuttings. Jay said the mural was funded by an MEDC vibrancy grant and was relocated after a fire affected the originally planned site.
"It was a MEDC vibrancy grant that gave us the opportunity to do that," Jay said, and he thanked partners including Adrian College, Siena Heights, Adrian Public Schools, the Adrian Center for the Arts and the DDA for work selecting an artist.
Jay said some grant dollars remain and the DDA must act quickly: "So May 1 is the deadline for that, for those grant dollars," he said, noting he expects to execute additional projects early next year to use remaining funds.
On broader economic development, Jay introduced a National Main Street report on building an entrepreneurial ecosystem, saying stakeholders such as Adrian College, the SBDC, Michigan Works and Michigan State Extension participated. The plan proposes a one-stop information hub on the downtown website to help new and existing businesses find resources.
Jay also outlined an operational data push over winter to collect information on downtown business listings, resident counts and employment to support business retention and expansion work in the spring.
No board votes were required for these reports; staff said they will follow up with committees and partners to implement the next steps and to meet grant deadlines.