Improvements planned for riverfront park in downtown Allegan
“This project will create a new space in Downtown Allegan that is inclusive of all users and modernize a beloved community place,” says MEDC Regional Prosperity Managing Director Paula Holtz.
What’s happening: Mahan Park in downtown Allegan is set to receive some significant upgrades in these coming months, and the project’s inclusion in a statewide placemaking initiative should help make it all the more likely to happen.
What it is: Built in the 1980s, Mahan Park offers a public space for the community in downtown Allegan along the picturesque Kalamazoo River. With its terraced seating and wooden gazebo, the park hosts concerts, weddings, festivals, and more.
What’s planned: The city of Allegan intends to update the park, keeping its original layout and terraced seating while making a host of new improvements. That includes replacing the original wooden gazebo, weathered and structurally compromised, with a new steel pavilion better suited for live performances. Other planned improvements include adding a universally accessible pedestrian plaza; new landscaping, lighting, and furniture; and improving the riverfront boardwalk.
How they’ll do it: The Mahan Park project has been accepted into the state’s placemaking initiative Public Spaces Community Places, a joint effort from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Michigan Municipal League, and Patronicity. As part of the initiative, the City of Allegan has launched a $50,000 crowdfunding campaign on the Michigan-based Patronicity platform. Should they successfully reach their goal by Wednesday, July 31, the MEDC will contribute a $50,000 matching grant to the project.
Learn more about the Mahan Park plans on Patronicity.
Why it’s important: “The Public Spaces Community Places grant program through the MEDC is an instrumental piece in realizing the transformation of Mahan Park to prolong its legacy as a community favorite space along the Kalamazoo River,” says Joel Dye, City Manager.
“The funding of up to $100,000 will significantly contribute to our $400,000 improvement plan, enhancing the park with a new steel structure in place of a wood gazebo, beautified landscaping, an accessible plaza, and modern street lighting, ultimately remodeling Mahan Park to meet the standard of the updated Downtown Allegan.”
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