Business View Magazine
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a commitment by the city, working with our partner,
the Downtown Development Authority (DDA),” explains
Finn. “Between the two organizations, we funded that
entire project. That was done, first of all, because it
needed it, but secondly to show the community - es-
pecially the business community - that the city is very
committed to moving forward, working in partnership
with the business community. Since the renovations,
there have been more businesses opening downtown.”
To help those new businesses thrive, Finn also knows
that the downtown area must be a location where
people want to visit, shop, and linger. He says that the
downtown redevelopment project was completed this
past summer, purposely, to coincide with the city’s
hosting of the Tall Ships Celebration. “Every three
years, we have somewhere between 12 and 18 tall
ships come into the city along the Saginaw River,”
he relates. “We’re one of their ports of call along the
Great Lakes. We have them for four or five days, and
that brings in over 300,000 visitors, all coming to see
these majestic tall ships. And, this year, they came into
a brand new downtown.”
To further enhance the downtown environment, Finn
says that the city-owned, municipal electric company
is on “a very progressive schedule of replacing all of
our decorative lighting in the downtown area. That was
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
Bay City, Michigan
WHAT:
A city of 35,000
WHERE:
East-central Michigan near the base of
the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron
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