As a continuous reminder that Realtors Do Make the Difference, a new Placemaking Grant from the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors will help make the City of New Buffalo a better place to live and work by transforming an unused space into a vibrant place for the community to gather and enjoy.
The new $2,400 Placemaking 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 the Realtors Association will be used to provide equipment and staff for testing the viability of projecting artwork, moving images and videos onto walls at night along New Buffalo’s 2-block downtown streetscape. That project is designed to bring light, movement, and excitement into the downtown area year-round engaging both locals and visitors to gather in that destination spot.
Kay Hartmann, spokesperson for the Design Visual Impact Committee, explains, “Community engagement will come from participants and their families and friends’ interest in imagery that is generated locally. People will have more reasons to stay downtown, after being on the beach, while waiting for dinner reservations or for their friends to gather. The art and light show will have an economic impact by encouraging visitors and locals to linger in the downtown area to shop, eat, and drink.” She adds, “This may help businesses who normally close at night find a reason to remain open later.”
Hartmann continues, “The lights will be projected onto exterior walls starting with the intersection of Whittaker and Merchant streets, projecting from Brewster’s parking lot onto the Villager’s southeast wall.”
Dan Coffey, Realtor at RE/MAX Harbor Country in New Buffalo was the Realtor sponsor for the grant. Coffey explained the reason for his endorsement, “I hope that this project will make the neighborhood more economically viable by attracting more people to the downtown area to walk around and spend money in the stores and restaurants.”
Mark Van Dusen is President of the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors. He contends, “Realtors live, work and volunteer in their communities and take immense pride in working to improve them.”
Van Dusen suggests, “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.
Van Dusen concludes, “As the City of New Buffalo becomes more attractive and welcoming, nearby properties may also increase in value.”
For more information on the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors placemaking initiative, visit www.swmar.com. To find out more about the National Association of Realtors placemaking program you can visit, https://realtorparty.realtor/community-outreach/placemaking.
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 Berrien, Cass and Van Buren Counties. The Association can be contacted at 269-983-6375 or through their website at www.swmar.com.
In the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market, The Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors provided a $2,400 Placemaking Grant to help make the City of New Buffalo a better place to live and work by transforming an unused space into a vibrant place for the community to gather and enjoy. The grant will provide equipment and staff for testing the viability of projecting artwork, moving images and videos onto walls at night along New Buffalo’s 2-block downtown streetscape.
