By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
BUCHANAN, MI – A new development action plan is now in place for the Buchanan Downtown Development Authority after action last week by the Buchanan City Commission. The commission’s action came after two public hearings on the plan.
The DDA was reconstituted last year with new members after being dormant since 2020. Since then, DDA members have been working with city staff and Berrien County Community Development Director Dan Fette to develop a new tax increment financing plan that outlines the DDA’s goals and projects for the next 15 years.
City Manager Tony McGhee reported last week that DDA members were able to develop a well balanced plan of what they want to do in coming years with Fette’s expertise which he described as having “great value.”
He said that the new plan is not set in stone and noted that the DDA can come back to the City Commission in the future if they want to make changes to the plan.
McGhee said the DDA’s focus in the 2026-27 year will be on marketing, signage and wayfinding, and promoting community events. He said after the meeting that the DDA has received a number of marketing proposals and will likely make a decision at their next meeting in July.
He said possible building façade loans or grants to downtown businesses would be something the DDA plans to pursue in the 2027-28 year. After questions from commissioners, he said the emphasis will be on awarding grants to qualifying businesses rather than loans.
Other programs the DDA plans to support include the operation and maintenance of Pears Mill, the Farmers Market and the Tin Shop Theatre as well as the maintenance of downtown public spaces.
The DDA’s boundaries are roughly the city’s downtown including Front, Oak and Main Streets, Days Avenue and Red Bud Trail. The DDA currently has a fund balance of over $505,000. The DDA should be able to capture an additional $112,000 through tax increment financing this year and even more in subsequent years.
Also last week, the commission approved policies and procedures for the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. McGhee and Mayor Pro-Tem Patrick Swem said the policies and procedures were developed in conjunction with the Fleis & Vandenbrink firm and are also modeled on the policies and procedures of the St. Joseph Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.
McGhee said the authority had been dormant and is being brought back as interest grows in new development. He noted that the state rules governing brownfield redevelopment previously concentrated on contaminated industrial sites requiring clean up but are now being utilized as a financing function for new development on sites that aren’t necessarily contaminated.
In other action, the commission approved a new five year contract for trash and recycling services with LRS Services. McGhee said prices will actually go down for city residents with the new contract, going from $16 a month now to $11.25 a month under the new contract. The charge for recycling will be $2 a month and residents will get one bulk pickup a year.
“We get more service at less cost,” Swem said.
Commissioners sold the final four of 12 city-owned lots on the city’s north side to Astrong Construction. Astrong will pay a total of $27,200 for the properties at 411 Elizabeth St., 416 Bluff St., 418 Bluff St. and 1104 Victory St.
McGhee said Astrong will build two homes by the end of the year and the other two homes by next July. The lots they are buying came to the city after they were foreclosed on by the county for back taxes and then purchased by the city. The sale of the lots and the construction of new homes will put those properties back on the tax rolls.
The commission sold the other eight lots earlier this month to the Allen Edwin company through the Michigan Housing Partnership LLC for $6,500 each. Allen Edwin has developed several projects throughout the state including others in Berrien County.
McGhee said earlier in June that both Allen Edwin and AStrong plan to build duplexes on the lots they’re buying. He said he expects both companies to apply for housing brownfield credits that will allow them to get tax credits for building in an underserved market area.
Last week’s meeting began with the reading of a proclamation honoring the 100th anniversary of the Boys Scouts in Buchanan this year. The local Boy Scout troop was honored for its work in helping shape the community’s young people into leaders who “understand the value of responsibility, teamwork, preparedness, and service to others.”