A year after the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board approved a new tax increment financing (TIF) plan called Moving Downtown Forward – which was then sidelined due to an election process that produced two new charter amendments changing how TIF works in Traverse City – officials are ready to revisit the plan again. DDA board members discussed Moving Downtown Forward Friday, along with updates on several downtown events.

Moving Downtown Forward
With a 2027 expiration looming for TIF 97 – one of two TIF plans that help fund most downtown programs and projects, along with Old Town TIF – DDA leaders are ready to revisit the possibility of extending the plan. The updated plan – called Moving Downtown Forward – must go to city voters for approval under amendments to the city charter passed in last November’s election.

The last time DDA board members spoke about Moving Downtown Forward in “any concerted way” was last August when they approved the plan, DDA Executive Director Harry Burkholder said Friday. The DDA worked for several years prior to create Moving Downtown Forward, which outlines a new set of projects and priorities that would be covered by TIF funds in the coming three decades.

Moving Downtown Forward was supposed to go to city commissioners for adoption following DDA approval last year. However, commissioners decided not to take up the plan until after the 2024 election since two proposals were on the ballot that would change city TIF rules. Those proposals were approved, requiring – among other stipulations – that the creation, amendment, or extension of any TIF plan must go to a public vote. That requirement applies to both DDA and brownfield TIF plans. Moving Downtown Forward has remained on the back burner since the election.

“A lot has happened in that time,” Burkholder said Friday. “The biggest one that’s come up recently is the strategic action plan by the city.” Burkholder created a matrix that compared projects identified in Moving Downtown Forward – ranging from stormwater infrastructure to district-wide heated sidewalks to City Opera House renovations to housing and mobility initiatives – to priorities in the city’s recently adopted strategic action plan. The comparison showed strong overlap between DDA and city priorities, Burkholder said. “I think all the work that we’re doing is in alignment with those strategic action steps to some degree or another,” he said.

Board members discussed having Future iQ, the consulting firm that helped the city create its strategic action plan, do a deeper dive into Moving Downtown Forward to potentially help further align the documents. Centering DDA and city collaboration as part of the Moving Downtown Forward process will be key moving forward, Burkholder said. The DDA is expected to continue discussing the plan at upcoming meetings. Meanwhile, city commissioners will vote August 4 on a new implementation policy for the TIF charter amendments, which will outline “a process for how TIF-related approvals are to be placed on the ballot,” City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht said previously.

DDA Events
In addition to discussing Moving Downtown Forward, DDA board members Friday approved separate contracts for firms to install/remove downtown holiday lights for the next three years and to conduct an annual performance review of Burkholder. Board members also heard updates on several downtown events.

Two popular past summer events will return this year, including Street Sale and Friday Night Live. Street Sale – an all-day, open-air shopping event that has taken place since 1958 – will be held Friday, August 1 on Front Street between Union and Park streets. DDA Director of Events & Engagement Sara Klebba said more than 50 merchants are confirmed for the event this year.

Street Sale will lead right into the first of two Friday Night Live events, scheduled for August 1 and 8 from 6pm to 9pm. Front Street will transform into a “festival block party with live music, street performances, interactive nonprofit booths, food and beverage vendors, and family-friendly activities,” according to a downtown release. Both Friday Night live events will feature balloon artists, caricatures, giant bubbles, face painting, and music bingo. August 1 will feature the Clark Lewis Juggling Stunt Show, Full Tilt Comedy, Little Dipper '90s country with line dancing, and Twisted Style Freerunning. August 8 will feature performances by All American Dance Party, Fresh Coast Groove, Old Town Playhouse, and The Timebombs.

The DDA, which manages the Traverse City Arts Commission on behalf of the city, also announced new details Friday on the inaugural Traverse City Mural Festival planned September 12-17. Six artists and seven mural sites have been selected for the event throughout the North Boardman Lake District/Eighth Street corridor, according to DDA Deputy Director Lauren Bohac. They include:

> Nik Burkhart (Maple City) at Oryana
> Jamie John (Traverse City) at The Filling Station
> Dania Grevengoed (Grand Rapids) at Bay Family Vision and EB2
> Son Visual (Grand Rapids) at Silver Spruce Brewing
> Drift Mural Co. (Ottawa, Ontario) at The Box
> Daisuke Okamoto (Los Angeles) at The Copy Shop

More programming and schedule details are expected to be announced soon. Tentative festival plans “include a panel discussion with the muralists, a walking tour of the completed murals, and family programming partnered with Traverse Area District Library,” according to Bohac.