SWMI REALTORS Association Awarded Placemaking Grant to
Village of Baroda Dog Park
- JOSEPH, MI – The Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors® received a $2,500 Placemaking grant from the National Association of Realtors® to help make Village of Baroda a better place to live and work by transforming an unused space into vibrant place for the community to gather and enjoy.
The grant is intended to help Realtor Associations partner with others to plan, organize, implement and maintain Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper Placemaking projects in their communities.
The grant from Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors® will be used to provide fencing and landscaping materials to build and beautify a dog park on the south side of the Village Park, next to the tennis courts.
Tina Boehm, Township Clerk, explained, “We have a beautiful park by Hickory Creek that draws a lot of visitors. Quite a few of the people have dogs and it would be great to have a place for them to let their dog run and play. By having a dog park, it will draw more people to exercise their dogs and enjoy the other amenities the park has to offer.”
Boehm continued, “Dogs are more and more becoming integral parts of the family. Most people treat them like one of their children and are looking for activities to enjoy with them. It will definitely lead to social connections. Judging by the amount of people that walk their dogs in the village, I see a great demand for this project.,”
Paul Dumke, Broker/Owner, Integrity R.E. Professionals Lakeshore, Stevensville was the Realtor sponsor for the Village of Baroda Dog Park grant. Dumke explained the reason for his endorsement, “This community has become an attraction as well as a sought-after place for primary residence and second home families. Being an older historic community, most off the hones are on very small lots, therefore making the dog park so important to the health and wellbeing of the animals. It also will allow people and families to enjoy the park to its fullest.
“Realtors® live, work and volunteer in their communities and take immense pride in working to improve them,” said Robert Kaufman, President of the Southwestern Michigan Association of REALTORS®, Inc.
“Placemaking can help foster healthier, more social and economically viable communities. It creates places where people feel a strong stake in their neighborhoods and are committed to making things better. This grant will allow us to address areas in our community that need enhancement and revitalization and create a place where friends and neighbors can come together.”
Placemaking grants are awarded to local and state Realtor® associations to help them and their members create new public spaces and destinations in a community, like turning a parking spot into a people spot or a vacant lot into a pocket park. Realtor® associations and their Realtor® members are actively engaged in the community and know the neighborhoods and the properties that would benefit most from these improvement efforts.
“As the Village of Baroda area becomes more attractive and welcoming, nearby properties may also increase in value,” stated Kaufman.
For more information on the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors® placemaking initiative, visit www.swmar.com. To find out more about National Association of Realtors® placemaking program visit, https://realtorparty.com/community-outreach/placemaking
About
The Southwestern Michigan Association of REALTORS®, Inc. is a professional trade association for real estate licensees who are members of the National Association of REALTORS® and ancillary service providers for the real estate industry in Van Buren, Berrien and Cass Counties. The Association can be contacted at 269-983-6375 or through their website at www.swmar.com
The Village of Baroda is located in Berrien County, MI. The Township Clerk is Tina Boehm. The Village offices are located at 9091 1st St., Baroda Michigan 49101. They can be contacted at 269-422-1779 or through the Village website – www.barodavillage.org
4/12/2018
Photo Caption:
The Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors® received a $2,500 Placemaking grant from the National Association of Realtors® to help the Village of Baroda to fund a dog park on the south side of the Village Park, next to the tennis courts.
Accepting the check from Alan Jeffries, Association Executive, Southwestern Michigan Association of REALTORS®, Inc. and Robert Kaufman, Association President, was Bob Getz, Village of Baroda President, and Tina Boehm, Township Clerk. Attending the grant presentation ceremony (L-R) Paul Dumke, Integrity R.E. Professionals Lakeshore, Alan Jeffries, Southwestern Michigan Association of REALTORS Association Executive, Robert Kaufman, 2018 Association President, Bob Getz, Village of Baroda President and Tina Boehm, Clerk Village of Baroda. Paul Dumke was the Realtor® sponsor for the Village of Baroda Dog Park grant.
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