LAASE-McKINNEY

MARQUETTE — Marquette’s Downtown Development Authority has a new executive director, Tara Laase-McKinney, who has been working for the DDA since September 2014.

Laase-McKinney started at the DDA with a diverse background in event planning, marketing and publication design but said that she had to grow into her prior role and will continue to grow in her newest one as well.

“Being here that long, I’ve been able to learn a lot about the DDA and grow in my knowledge of how the downtown works,” she said. “I would say I am really excited to get to know a lot of these organizations that are in Marquette that as DDA we can partner and work with to continue to promote and grow downtown Marquette and its businesses. There are plenty of economic development organizations in the area and I really want to build those relationships and work with them to help the businesses that are here or potentially look for gaps in what we offer as a downtown and maybe attract some of those types of businesses to downtown so that we have a very diverse and resilient downtown.”

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DDA is in a relatively good position as most of Marquette’s downtown businesses survived. While it was still difficult for a lot of businesses, Laase-McKinney and the DDA are eager to show their support, looking to partner with downtown businesses to improve Marquette.

As far as actions being taken, this year, the DDA gave out an up to $5,000 facade grant to help local businesses maintain their buildings exteriors. While the grant has been exhausted for the rest of the year, the DDA is looking to bring back the 2-to-1 matching grant in the future. The DDA is also looking at bringing tax increment financing to Third Street. The TIF would allow for improvements to Third Street’s cityscape including the possibility of more trees, benches and other amenities. Last of all, Laase-McKinney is hoping to improve the Marquette Commons area, while the farmers market is a continuous success in the DDA’s eyes as it believes that the Commons area is otherwise underused. The goal of the project would be to create a space that is a desirable meeting place for people and to make it a more consistently used space throughout the week instead of only during weekends and special events. While summer is an exceptionally busy time for downtown Marquette, there is a lot to be excited about on the DDA’s full plate.

“I just really love downtown Marquette. I want to continue to see these businesses here be successful and downtown Marquette continue to be a really desirable and wonderful place for people,” Laase-McKinney said.

The DDA encourages people to reach out with any questions or complaints they may have.

Laase-McKinney can be reached by email at Tara@downtownmarquette.org or by phone at 906-228-9475, ext. 103. Marquette’s DDA website is www.downtownmarquette.org.