DDA highlights accomplishments to Marquette City Commission

Throughout the year downtown Marquette is busy with events and activities, and the Marquette Downtown Development Authority highlighted what its done to keep downtown vibrant.

The Downtown Development Authority gave a presentation to the Marquette City Commission Monday night about the group’s accomplishments over the past year, and how in the past five years its changed its focus outside of bricks-and-mortar duties.

“We’ve developed an events and promotions line item, we’ve hired staff to actually run our events and promote different events in the downtown,” DDA board chair Christine Pesola said, “and I think seen at the Blueberry Festival which just happened this last weekend, it’s a great event, it brings people downtown and it’s certainly something our business owners in the downtown area are excited about.”

And business are thrilled by the events and activities that bring people to the downtown area.

“We love it, I don’t know what else to say,” Pesola said.  “I mean as a business owner myself in the district I’m thrilled to see all of the people that come to our city and in the summer as well as the winter.”

“There’s always a give and take (with downtown businesses), sometimes we have to shut down the street and so that could be a negative but I think in general they see that anytime we do a big event and promote our downtown and bring lots of new people in, that just brings them back to shop later.”

Pesloa said Marquette’s downtown district is home to over 400 businesses and employs nearly 3,000 people.