Cadillac gets placemaking grant

Cadillac will be one of eight Michigan cities participating in a placemaking process through the Michigan Municipal League, which includes grant funding to improve the city's historic downtown. 

 

The effort is called PlacePlans, and is a joint project with Michigan State University and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, meant to help communities design and plan for placemaking projects that can transform a city or neighborhood into something better fitted for economic revitalization.

 

For Cadillac, that means restoration and investment in a historic downtown block fronting Lake Cadillac. Among the improvements will be the addition of new residential space, putting in a new brewpub, linking the downtown to a regional trailhead for alternative transportation, and renovating and upgrading an existing arts pavilion. 

 

The grant funding will provide a unified physical design plan for the block and all its related projects, which make up a key part of Cadillac's downtown, according to MSHDA. The finished improvements will fulfill the goal of creating a positive place to live, work and play, and be able to provide infrastructure for future planned investments in the neighborhood and downtown.

  

The other cities receiving funds are Marquette, Detroit, Flint, Holland, Jackson, Kalamazoo and Midland.