9&10 News and The Downtown Development Authority is continuing their weekly partnership to discuss the changes or events that are happening downtown. The DDA plans to break ground on the long-awaited Rotary Square project in the spring of 2027. The central civic square, which has been in the planning stages for approximately 30 years, is designed to serve as a community hub connecting Downtown with Old Town.
The project moves forward following 14 months of community engagement that generated more than 1,000 points of feedback. The resulting design balances open green space for passive use with flexible areas capable of hosting art festivals, concerts and other local events.
The project design emphasizes local needs over large-scale tourism, featuring open grass areas for lunch and designated play areas for children. Harry Burkholder Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority noted that the community requested the space remain as open as possible.
“So again, we’re really trying to design this space with the locals in mind,” Burkholder said. “So this is not meant for big tourist festivals, that type of thing. It’s for smaller events, but also then providing an opportunity for the people who live in and around town to use it.”
Geographically, Rotary Square is situated to bridge the downtown area with Old Town. It also provides a direct connection to the adjacent Fish Pass project. Burkholder described the square as a “perfect connection” that effectively links both halves of the downtown district together.
Funding for the development was secured through a mix of state and local sources. An appropriation from the state of Michigan in 2018 and 2019 allowed the DDA to purchase the site and demolish a former bank building that occupied the space. Rotary Charities also contributed $1 million to the project, which has funded the design and planning process to date. The DDA is exploring the possibility of using remaining funds from the Rotary Charities gift to establish an endowment. This would be intended to maintain Rotary Square in perpetuity.
The DDA expects to have construction documents ready for a spring 2027 start. Burkholder estimated that construction should be completed by the end of summer 2027.