savings by doing that, and we added some additional features that some of our residents wanted to see,” she relays. REVITALIZING THE HEART OF TOWN Redford’s downtown is an important part of its identity, and efforts to strengthen and rejuvenate this area are ongoing. “We have a pretty wellestablished corridor,” describes Michele Mancini, Director of Community and Economic Development. “There’s not a lot of room for new buildings, but we do have buildings that are available. We try to work with businesses that want to locate here to fill those spaces.” The township’s Downtown Development Area (DDA) has been carefully designed to create a small town experience, with local shops and restaurants rather than large chain stores. “Our township hardware store, which is a True Value, is probably the only thing located in the DDA that’s an actual chain,” Mancini reports. “We do have one piece of property that we are looking for a development to go on, probably something like mixed retail and housing. It’s an office complex that was taken down, and it’s approximately an acre and a half.” A notable community gathering spot is the Marquee, a multipurpose venue in the center of downtown. Used for a local farmers market in the summer, the facility is also available to rent for events like weddings, graduations, and showers. Adam Bonarek, Director of Central Operations,“It’s a really neat building that was repurposed. It’s shaped kind of like an octagon, and it used to be the township library. Instead of tearing the old building down, they converted it to this mixed use, indoor, outdoor space. It was a great way to revitalize that building.” GROWING JOBS AND BUSINESS Economic growth remains top of mind, especially when it brings new employment opportunities, 101 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08 REDFORD TOWNSHIP, MI
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