There was a time when city life in the U.S. revolved around a few main streets, and a downtown center served as its beating heart.

The advent of automobiles and post-war booms brought urban sprawl and caused cities to spread far beyond the limits of their downtowns. Yet, in the modern age, many are looking to the past to provide for their futures by reclaiming the downtown sector.

Beginning in 2018, officials in one municipality, Allegan, Michigan, population 5,222, saw such a need to restore the heart of the town.

City Manager Joel Dye was hired into his position the year before the process began.

“It has been over 40 years since the streets and sidewalks in downtown Allegan had seen any improvements and over 80 years since the water and sewer infrastructure saw any improvements,” he stated. “After decades of disinvestment in the public infrastructure in downtown Allegan, it was clear that the city needed to make this investment to make it more accessible, livable and lasting.” The driving force behind the project came from the community itself, particularly business and property owners in the downtown sector.

Working with Abonmarche, the engineering company of record in Benton Harbor, Mich., the city created what Dye called “shovel-ready plans” with which it was able to secure funding from both the state of Michigan and the federal government. Combined with local funds, the money went toward making the revitalization project a reality.

In addition to the infrastructure issues, Dye recalled the city’s faith that “investment begets investment; by investing in our public infrastructure, private investment would follow.”

In December, the first part of the $9 million project saw completion and opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony presided over by Mayor Roger Bird. That piece of the overall project included replacing water and sewer mains, redesigning roads to eliminate some one-way streets and installing new sidewalks and bump-outs for pedestrian safety. For increased safety and beauty, old streetlights were replaced and landscaping beds, trees and street furniture were also added.

Dye reported, “We removed one short block and, in its place, installed a pedestrian plaza. … And to top it off, our local trades school is finishing up unique, Allegan-specific bike racks that will be installed later this summer.”

There is still work to do on some ancillary streets, but those will be addressed as funding presents itself, Dye said. Hiccups have arisen, but he reported that the improvements have placed Allegan “on an upward trajectory,” and that they continue to bring investors and increased activity to the downtown.

All the buildings that make up downtown Allegan date around the late 1800s to early 1900s. Some of the historic buildings are currently undergoing revitalization by private investors. Additionally, a new hotel is being constructed.

Dye offered some advice to other towns looking to reconstruct their historic districts.

“Set the vision first; fully know what your community wants to be,” he said. “Do a project kickoff celebrating the impending project and upcoming change. During the project, give weekly updates to keep the community informed. At the end, throw a party. We did ours on Small Business Saturday, encouraging the public to spend money in downtown Allegan.”

Small Business Saturday falls on the day after Black Friday, ringing in the Christmas shopping season. Because of the timing, citizens of Allegan had the chance to experience the renovated downtown in full Christmas fashion last year.

The shops and eateries that call downtown Allegan home are small businesses owned by residents pursuing their dreams. With the revitalization, events like April’s Bloom and Vroom, sidewalk sales in July and a Halloween-themed shopping day in October brought more customers to the downtown area.

Heather Belong owns a flower shop in downtown Allegan, where she provides floral creations to the community. Of the changes, she commented, “It’s been really nice. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback.”

The only drawback that she has encountered is a decrease in parking, but that hasn’t stopped residents from returning to the area. “It has brought a lot of people downtown, people who haven’t been downtown in a long time,” she said. Though Belong has been in her location for five years, some people had previously been unaware of her shop’s existence. Now, she has people coming in daily who are simply checking out the changes in town and shopping at hers and other stores. “It’s been very positive for me.”

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