Central Business District Association Regroups

The Grand Rapids Central Business District Association (CBDA) initiated three new projects at a re-organizational meeting on Wednesday. One was to explore hiring a marketing person for the downtown area. The second was to re-engage in developing directional signage for the downtown business area. And the third was to investigate the revised Minnesota Mainstreet Program as a vehicle for helping to further invigorate downtown.  Smaller groups were formed to initiate plans for each of the projects and report back at the next meeting in January.

The CBDA, which had not been meeting regularly, had been brought together earlier for a focus group on the Grand Rapids Comprehensive Plan process. The people participating in that focus group agreed to revive the Central Business District Association. Ed Zabinski facilitated a brainstorming that included discussion of the Central School area and the difficulty for pedestrian connections within downtown caused by MNDOT's management of the state highways. 

The group will meet again on Wednesday January12th, 2010,  from 7:30 to 8:30 at the Grand Rapids City Hall.