Nate Heffron, city manager, city of Negaunee

NEGAUNEE — Negaunee will be abuzz with the sounds of construction starting in the spring and throughout the entire summer. The improvements are expected to continue until we see winter snowflakes fall.

Sorry, I know, it’s way too soon to start talking about next winter, especially when we’re all hopping for the current long, seemingly endless winter to actually end!

Our overall Downtown Enhancement Project has been the subject of several meetings last week, which will continue into next week. Just to recap, this project will mark investments in both the infrastructure and beautification of downtown Negaunee.

Those infrastructure improvements include water and sewer mains, new sidewalks, street lighting, fiber, and newly paved streets.

As for the beautification factor, Negaunee is working on several unique placemaking projects, also known as social hubs.

These spaces will pair well with Negaunee’s newly established social district and will help to service the needs of our businesses, while enhancing the unique features of our community for our residents and visitors.

In order to get this once-in-a-lifetime project done right, city staff has been hard at work looking into the details of the overall project.

Making repairs to old infrastructure and installing new infrastructure like high-speed fiber is not only logical, but a must! We just cannot decide to only pave a street to take care of what’s visible.

This would be a misuse of taxpayer funds and a great disservice to our current and future residents if we don’t take care of what is below the streets too. This is why we take our ‘dig once’ policy to heart!

As for these social hubs, several public spaces will be redesigned or reimagined. These new spaces are welcome news to business owners who are looking forward to adding to the charm of downtown, hoping to draw in more visitors. With more visitors, only more success can be fostered. Our success will be measured in new businesses, more jobs, and investment in our community which only means increased benefits to Negaunee residents!

Negaunee’s downtown will not only feature a new look to some degree, but it will also pay homage to and stay true to her mining past.

History is important, this has been said time and time again, in surveys, in passing, and at public meetings. This is why great effort has been taken in this project to showcase history through design and investment.

We hope with these changes and forward thinking, that ultimately, we will attract new investment to preserve our historic buildings.

All of this is possible through several funding sources, including overall $1M in grants.

More information will be released on the details of this project in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the public is welcome to attend Negaunee’s next DDA meeting at 5:30 p.m. March 27 at the Negaunee Ice Arena to learn more.

We hope the city council can review and approve the project in early May. Negaunee is Forging her own Adventure, toward success, prosperity, and preservation!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Nate Heffron is city manager of the city of Negaunee.