Most strategic plans for downtowns include some sort of major infrastructure project, such as streetscape improvements, restoring historic buildings and improving the pedestrian environment.
Downtown Ypsilanit's new five-year strategic plan doesn't really touch on those subjects, saying the city center has already accomplished most of those basic goals. Instead the plan, prepared by city officials and downtown revitalization consultants HyettPalma, calls for marketing the downtown better, letting locals define it first, facilitating more cooperation between institutions and developing a better business environment.
"Our goal will be to make Downtown Ypsilanti a well known regional destination for
entertainment, the arts and food, with the grittiness, edge and realness that is Ypsilanti," says Brian Vosburg, director of the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority.
The plan also suggests creating more residences downtown, creating better synergies with mass transit and connecting the city center to other major areas, such as Eastern Michigan University's campus and Depot Town.
For information, contact Vosburg at brian@ypsilantidda.org or at (734) 482-1410.
Source: Brian Vosburg, director of the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Jon Zemke
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