DDA outlines $2025–26 priorities: Rotary Square, Lot B reconstruction, farmers market pavilion and riverwalk work

The Downtown Development Authority presented a budget that balances ongoing maintenance and services with schematic design and potential implementation for several large downtown projects, including Rotary Square, a farmers‑market pavilion linked to Lot B reconstruction, and a Lower Boardman Riverwalk phase.

DDA Executive Director Harry Burkholder told the commission the DDA’s budget is organized across three TIF‑based budgets and a general budget; the DDA also manages the Arts Commission budget and recently reduced its board size from 12 to nine. The DDA said it is coordinating closely with city departments on joint projects and that this year will be the first in which the DDA’s financials are run on the city’s BS&A system.

Major items and grants: Burkholder said the DDA is using remaining Rotary Charities funds and TIF dollars to complete conceptual design work for Rotary Square (an open house for the Rotary Square design was scheduled for May 15). The DDA’s largest single proposed capital expenditure is a farmers‑market pavilion that was in the original TIF ’97 plan; the DDA proposed aligning pavilion construction with the city’s Lot B reconstruction to realize efficiencies. The DDA is a subrecipient on a NOAA shoreline‑stabilization grant administered by the Grand Traverse Band (about $657,000 in the first phase), and staff said a third year of NOAA funding could bring more than $1 million in implementation funds.

Infrastructure, streets and stormwater: The DDA budget includes payments toward streetscaping and snow‑melt infrastructure, stormwater contributions tied to Lot B reconstruction and an allocation to repair or replace the temporary deck and stairs placed as public infrastructure at the Inovo development. Burkholder said the DDA allocated $250,000 for replacement of a section of River’s Edge Riverwalk (including a railing) and also budgeted for wayfinding signage and small‑scale infrastructure repairs identified in a downtown walk‑through.

Activating downtown: The budget keeps funding for events, marketing, a downtown cleaning/green team, holiday lights and the farmers market operations; the Arts Commission’s budget will support six murals on the A Street corridor and other public‑art maintenance and replacements.

Commission response and public comments: Commissioner Shaw pressed the DDA on whether enough is being spent to maintain existing downtown infrastructure, citing crumbled sidewalks, deteriorated crosswalks and other visible maintenance needs. Shaw noted a 2018 TIF‑area stormwater management plan that highlighted stormwater challenges in the downtown’s largely impervious area and asked how that study’s recommendations are reflected in the DDA budget. Burkholder said the DDA had reexamined budgets and prioritized schematic design and cost estimation for the pavilion, Rotary Square and riverwalk so that the board and city can decide which projects to fund within the remaining years of TIF ’97.

Public comment during the study session included a resident urging demolition of two blighted buildings near Pine and Union, noting an $8,000 Eagle grant referenced in public discussion and suggesting those funds could be used instead of a DDA contribution to demolition.

Next steps: The DDA will continue schematic design and cost estimation for the Rotary Square, farmers‑market pavilion and Riverwalk projects, refine funding decisions as cost estimates arrive and coordinate with the city on Lot B reconstruction and related stormwater work. The DDA flagged the end of TIF ’97 as a time‑sensitive constraint on its ability to fund large projects.