By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
BUCHANAN, MI – Hundreds of residents gathered together with local, county and state officials Friday morning to celebrate the completion of the large infrastructure project and declare Buchanan “open for business”. The ceremony featured remarks from business owners and others as well as a ribbon cutting featuring local youngsters, symbolizing that the project is for future generations.
While the downtown wasn’t open for vehicular traffic Friday, city officials said that streets were scheduled to be open for cars and trucks last weekend or early this week. The final touches of the streetscape project are expected to be completed next spring.
The $19.4 million project began in the spring and saw underground infrastructure replaced and upgraded. In addition, the downtown streetscape has been totally revamped with the new roads built in a tabletop design that creates a flexible area that can easily convert roadways into a plaza space for festivals and community events.
Mayor Mark Weedon began the festivities with opening remarks for the program. Weedon thanked residents and business owners for their patience over the months. He noted the uniqueness of the downtown’s “tabletop” design which is the first of its kind to be installed in Southwest Michigan.
“It’s been a long and dusty road,” Weedon told those gathered. “It’s a project not just for today but for the next 100 years and it’s a project that future generations will be able to appreciate for years to come.”
Two downtown business owners were among those speaking. Carla Mayer of Glendora Books and Joe Krueger of Redbud Hardware both said the last several months have been challenging but that downtown businesses have worked to help each other. They said they look forward to the future and new opportunities.
“It was challenging but we’ve known it was worth it,” Mayer said. “By late summer, people were saying that it would be beautiful when it was done. We stuck together and had resilience and we now have a new beginning. We invite people come, stroll and linger. This will ensure the city’s future.”
“We had eight months of having a construction obstacle course with so much dirt and water,” Krueger said. “I want to say one thing loud and clear: Buchanan is open for business.”
County Board Chairman and Buchanan native McKinley “Mac” Elliott reminisced about how Buchanan has changed over the decades. He invited people to come back to the town and see what’s here. “The town’s character is still here but it’s more welcome and inviting,” he said.
Representatives from state and federal agencies also spoke. Sarah Snoeyink of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation spoke about the years of planning that led up to this project which she said is “a statement of what Buchanan is as a city.”
Carly Swanson, a community engagement specialist with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office, spoke about the importance of strong communities like Buchanan to the future strength of the state. “You have built something extraordinary that honors the past and embraces the future,” she said.
Valarie Handy of the United States Department of Agriculture and Lee Belding representing U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg also spoke. Handy called the project “transformational”, while Belding said that the project has been a testament to the hard work of city officials. “When small communities thrive, the nation thrives,” he said.