Downtown Hastings “A Place for Talent” 2016 MML Community Excellence Award - City of Hastings 1
A Growing Need • Downtown Hastings has long been the center of activity in Barry County, and a geographic hub of West Michigan being a short drive from Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Lansing. • Popularity and success of local musicians, children’s entertainers, artists, and festivals outgrew the existing venues : o Spray Plaza o Courthouse Lawn o Restaurants and Coffee Houses o Summerfest • Made social, economic, and cultural sense to build a synergistic connection through Downtown with the Thornapple Plaza, Riverwalk, and Spray Plaza, and City Parks at each end. 2016 MML Community Excellence Award - City of Hastings 2
Thornapple Plaza • Downtown Hastings “ place- making” and “destination” efforts • Fits with city’s Eastside Downtown Redevelopment Plan • Re-purposed blighted/brownfield site • Architectural fit with adjacent building - Hastings Public Library • • 9 months – Concept to Opening A 1.2 million dollar project funded 100% by a local family foundation • Low Maintenance 2016 MML Community Excellence Award - City of Hastings 3
Thornapple Plaza • Seats 700 - 1,000 • Venue for 30 FREE community concerts from June — August • On the Hastings Riverwalk Trail and the Thornapple River • Venue for other Downtown events: Summerfest, Jazz Festival, Roots Music Festival • Concession stand run by local service clubs such as Hastings Rotary and Kiwanis 2016 MML Community Excellence Award - City of Hastings 4
Local Talent Over 50 FREE concerts in Downtown Hastings this summer at multiple venues • Hastings, Barry County, and West Michigan have outstanding talent • Continued growth and popularity of Hastings City Band and Thornapple Jazz Orchestra • Amazing growth in the popularity of genre music: o Blues o Jazz o Bluegrass o Folk o Country o Americana • Thornapple Plaza + Spray Plaza helps build entertainment momentum in Downtown 2016 MML Community Excellence Award - City of Hastings 5
Events • Fits with other cultural events taking place in Downtown Hastings o Fridays at the Fountain o Playing at the Plazas o Roots Music Festival o Arts and Eats o Jazz Festival o Summerfest o Barry-Roubaix Road Race o Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball 2016 MML Community Excellence Award - City of Hastings 6
A Better Life for Residents and Visitors • Building an enriched culture and quality of living in Hastings and Barry County • Music - Free Concerts • Visual Art – Sculptures and Murals • Parks and Trails – Green Space • Thornapple River • Walkable and Bikable - Healthy 2016 MML Community Excellence Award - City of Hastings 7
Riverwalk • Connects the Thornapple Plaza on east end of Downtown with smaller Spray Plaza on the west end of mainstreet • Runs through three riverside parks – 63 acres • Captures the beauty of Hastings prime natural resource – the Thornapple River • Thornapple Plaza adds a third set of public bathrooms Downtown along the Riverwalk 2016 MML Community Excellence Award - City of Hastings 8
Spray Plaza • Accommodates up to 200 • Funded 85% by private donations • Grew from success of the Downtown Sculpture Tour • FREE children’s educational entertainment and concerts • Venue for Downtown events such as: Summerfest, Jazz Fest, Roots Festival • Redevelopment of a vacant lot on Mainstreet in Downtown Hastings 2016 MML Community Excellence Award - City of Hastings 9
Local Collaboration Making a Better Place • City of Hastings • Hastings Rotary • Hastings DDA • Hastings Kiwanis • Thornapple Arts Council • Downtown Merchants • Local Philanthropists and Volunteers 2016 MML Community Excellence Award - City of Hastings 10
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