About the Downtown Development Authority

The DDA was established in 1982 and is overseen by the Mayor and a 12 member board appointed by the City Commission. It is the responsibility of the DDA Board to define the downtown district and provide for all other matters within the district.

Focus: Infrastructure & Marketing

The DDA’s main focus is to facilitate economic development for the downtown district.
The DDA engages in building and maintaining:

• Parking lots
• Street lighting
• Traffic signals
• Parks
• Other streetscape features

Projects to facilitate economic development in the DDA district are not limited to physical improvements and upkeep. The DDA also engages in marketing activities such as the development of this website, social media accounts, the creation of walking maps and the perennial favorite, Music In the Air Concerts, on Friday evenings during the summer.

Current DDA Board Members

• Mayor Oliver Wolcott, CEO  owolcott@plymouthmi.gov
• Kerri Pollard, Chairperson, owner Spa Agio  kpollard@plymouthmi.gov
• Ellen Elliott, executive director of Friends of the Penn, resident eelliott@plymouthmi.gov
• Daniel Farmer, resident  dfarmer@plymouthmi.gov
• Scott Foess, resident  sfoess@plymouthmi.gov
• Maura Hynes, owner of Plymouth Coffee Bean Co., resident  mhynes@plymouthmi.gov
• Dan Johnson, owner Ironwood Grill and Park Place Gastro Pub  djohnson@plymouthmi.gov
• Andre Martinelli, resident  amartinelli@plymouthmi.gov
• Patrick O'Neill, owner Legacy Wealth Management  poneill@plymouthmi.gov
• Brent Rieli, resident and Plymouth Yoga Room representative  brieli@plymouthmi.gov

If you are interested in serving on this, or any other board, please complete a Volunteer Resume and submit it to the City Manager’s Office.

Meetings

DDA meetings are held on the second Monday of every month at 7 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall, 201 S. Main St.

Recent DDA Accomplishments

• 2018 renovation of the Central Parking Deck
• 2017 revamp of downtownplymouth.org to a mobile friendly format.
• 2016 reconstruction of the Fleet Street Alley that included award winning recognition from the Michigan Concrete Association.
• Doubled the amount of bike parking downtown in 2016.
• Continued production and coordination of the Friday night "Music in the Air" concert series in Kellogg Park.
• Addition of several dozen businesses in the downtown area to give the city of Plymouth one of the lowest vacancy rates in Michigan.
• Annual coordination with the Salvation Army and local retailers to produce the Main Street Boulevard Tree Lighting and Salvation Army Red Kettle Kick Off.
• Annual Adopt-a-Planter flower box program.
• Continued matching grant program to expand the holiday street lights.
• Coordination of sidewalk snow and ice removal every winter to keep downtown a safe and comfortable place to dine and shop.
• Digital media expansion including a new mobile friendly website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Downtown Plymouth events can also be found on the Pure Michigan page and the LocalHop smartphone app.
• 2011 Completion of two-year $2.1 million dollar Streetscape project.

Future DDA Projects

• Development of the property commonly referred to as the "Saxton's Property."
• Upgrade of the Kellogg Park fountain.
• Improvement of parking lots and alleys.
• Downtown tree replacement program.
• Increase public parking inventory.
• Increase bicycle parking downtown.