The City of Hillsdale received a $20,000 grant to revitalize its downtown area. Administrators are currently working with survey company HyettPalma, Inc., to determine how and when to spend that money.
Local businesses hope the $40,000 plan (the grant plus $20,000 from the city itself) will help them target untapped markets and give students and locals more of what they want. Hyett suggested that businesses find a relationship between the community and the college and amplify it.
"The revitalization plan for the downtown will determine what things we can do better," said Aimee England, manager of Volume One book store. "It'll tell us things to do to make downtown better, one of the things could be to work with the college more, or to have a tailgate for when the College has homecoming."
On Oct. 7, 10 Hillsdale College students comprised a focus group as part of HyettPalma's study. The hour-long survey asked students how often they use downtown Hillsdale's services, such as food, office, service businesses and at what time they're used.
"A good suggestion that came out of the focus group is enhance the linkage and enhance the walking and biking environment," said Doyle Hyett, HyettPalma owner.
Hyett said students like to explore off-campus when they can, and that's when a downtown comes into play: if the downtown opens further to students, its economy will boom. Toward this end, Hyett suggested that new restaurants and bars open until early morning and walking areas should welcome, with plenty of lights guiding the way.
City officials will present explicit plan details at the Dec. 1 meeting, picking about five "top priority" items to implement quickly, said Christine Bowman, the city's economic development director.
"It's a five-year strategic plan for downtown.," she said "It'll tell us what types of businesses downtown needs."
Bowman also said it'll help determine what kind of events can be held and when the best time to hold them is.
Half the $40,000 for improvements comes from a Michigan State Housing Development grant given to 11 Michigan cities as part of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's Cool City Initiative.
Hyett said he works with the Cool City program to keep students in Michigan.
Jonesville participated in the program, consulting with HyettPalma. According to Hyett, the economics for downtowns is simple: if you offer a good product with good service, people will keep coming back.
"[Jonesville has] cleaned their act up. They've cleaned up Main Street and put in more lighting and it's got good dining at relatively late hours," Hyett said. "Jonesville is giving the people what they want and they've done a really good job of cleaning up their environment."
HyettPalma will talk to business owners and survey available kinds of businesses, how much space is available downtown, how much is occupied and how much is taxable.
England hopes the plan will help bridge the M-99 gap separating college students from downtown Hillsdale.
"We feel that the highway is a line that can't be crossed," she said. "We don't want [students] driving to Ann Arbor for entertainment. If you want a greasy spoon joint that's open at three in the morning, tell us."
HyettPalma will announce the results of its survey on Dec. 1 at the Hillsdale Community Library.
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