St. Clair County leaders have their eyes on Marine City, a small town that has seen great success recently.
That success is spilling over into nearby communities like St. Clair, which is gathering momentum to become another destination city in the county.
St. Clair's ups and downs
Connie Yelencich loves matching up fashions with the right customer at Hers Women's Fashions in the plaza. She remembers a time when the Riverview Plaza was buzzing with activity. It had a shoe store, department store, furniture store, men's and women's clothing, restaurants and two drug stores, she says.
The plaza is located on Riverside drive, in the "heart" of St. Clair's downtown.
Then the economy took a nosedive. It had a big impact on what happened there and the rest of St. Clair County.
"When you're in the car industry, in ‘automation alley' in St. Clair County at that time, it was bad," she explains.
Now that the economy has picked up, she has customers coming from across the metro Detroit area, Port Huron and Canada to Hers and the other unique shops at the Riverview Plaza, in a more intimate setting than the big box stores can give.
"The small stores are a whole entity of themselves," she says. "We are just waiting for the St. Clair Inn to open up. But we have the beautiful park and boardwalk across the street and you can't take that away. We have a unique situation here."
The now-floundering St. Clair Inn across the street, was at its peak in the 80s. The upscale hotel was a well-known place for not only those outside the county, but the state. Now sitting vacant, it has needed the right person to step in and bring it back to its former glory. Hopefully, Jeff Katofsky, the new owner of the 90-year-old inn is that person. In the meantime, the store owners hold on until foot traffic from the inn comes calling.
New life at the plaza
The
city of St. Clair is a small community of about 5,200 people, pared down by a couple thousand after the long economic slump that had families and individual residents leaving the area for jobs outside the county. That same slump hit the once-bustling St. Clair Inn.
St. Clair Mayor Bill Cedar has served the city for the past 17 years, He has seen the decline, but has also seen firsthand the slow, steady growth taking place in the town. With the economy picking up, he says, people are apt to have more disposable income for shopping. Yes, there is much competition from malls and big box stores, he says. However, people will make the half-hour to hour drive to shop if it's worth their while. Still, he adds, more people are looking to shop local, and perhaps local businesses are offering customers more than they did before.
New courtyard becomes part of placemaking initiative
Relaxing to the sound of water from the fountain, taking in the sight of the glistening St. Clair River straight ahead or joining the conversation in one of several seating circles are some of the summer pastimes now enjoyed at
St. Clair Plaza Park (also called the courtyard). Outdoor enthusiasts can even bundle up and get cozy around the fire pits during the cooler seasons. Set in the middle of the plaza, which runs about two city blocks, the park will hopefully become a hub for what's happening in St. Clair.
Growing and thriving
SBS Management in Marysville schedules many of the activities at the courtyard. Manager Rachel LeVeille says, from where she sits, the city of St. Clair is "thriving and growing."
"There is more and more interest in the plaza and people are coming to enjoy it," she says.
LeVeille keeps track of the events going on at the plaza and books everything from weddings to class reunions to family reunions.
"It is a nice atmosphere, and a great place to take pictures, with the water in the background."
All applications for new businesses and activities in town pass through the desk of City Clerk Annette Sturdy.
"As a city administrator and as a resident here, there is quite an in influx of unique businesses and events," she says.
To name a few: Not Just Play, a place where children can develop skills to prepare them for kindergarten; Featherz, a consignment shop and exotic bird rescue and Riverview Fly Shop for fulfilling every fisherman's dreams.
City-wide events are organized through city hall and the Riverview Plaza Association. The popular summer concert series will fill the courtyard with music and merriment again this year.
The St. Clair Beer and Wine Fest and St. Clair Riverview Plaza Craft Show are a few more of the activities enjoyed at the plaza.
Anchors pass the baton
Right around the same time the courtyard construction was underway, Kris and Kevin Paul opened up
War Water Brewery in 2015. The former tenant of that space in the plaza was the highly successful Schwark Furniture Store, which thrived for 25 years before closing. The Pauls bought the property for War Water.
"I am very excited to do something to bring another anchor in (after) it closed a couple years ago. "It feels like the Schwark family handed the baton to the Paul family."
Targeting needs to offer solutions
The new craft brewery in the plaza has been a catalyst in sparking community involvement in St. Clair as craft beer has become somewhat of an obsession in the county--and state, for that matter. In the same way, Sue's Coffee House takes care of another universal need--caffeine. Yet another kind of obsession that affects young and old are pets and their owners. They are not just dogs or cats now, rather furry family members. To meet the need, the Plaza Pet Club recently opened, offering training classes, boarding, grooming and doggy day care.
To provide for yet another daily necessity, the entire downtown area will receive a much needed wireless upgrade in spring, courtesy of a grant from the Community Foundation of St. Clair County.
"There is currently complimentary WiFi available, although,the current system is outdated and therefore service is sporadic," says Community Foundation President Randy Maiers.
The grant will provide for all new equipment, further enticing people to spend the day not only at Plaza Park but along the boardwalk at Palmer Park as well, he says.
The courtyard upgrades were funded mostly through St. Clair-based endowment funds established by local families, says Maiers, who care greatly about the future of their hometown.
"The foundation has a strategic focus on growth and prosperity for our region, and our downtowns are a critical element of that growth," he says.
How ‘placemaking' works in communities
Another source of support comes from a "Placemaking Challenge Grant" from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. It's an economic growth strategy called "placemaking," says Maiers, meaning it creates public places and activities where people can meet others in their community.
"The courtyard project has turned out to be an outstanding example of how the placemaking efforts of community foundations and other partners can help shape and spur economic growth and prosperity," Maiers says.
Re-thinking urban renewal
Kris Paul is also working with other members of the St. Clair Plaza Association to push the gaining momentum in the plaza forward. Paul has been active at the SCPA for about 15 years, on and off. He says St. Clair has been called shortsighted for tearing down its historic downtown to make way for an enclosed mall during urban renewal, but he prefers to use the term "paused," not crippled, to describe St. Clair's current situation.
At the time, there were no inside/outside malls of that type, Paul explained, so in the larger scheme of things, the architect was 30 years ahead of his time to build the plaza instead of keeping its traditional downtown.
St.Clair's neighbor to the south, Marine City, is enjoying a mounting success for keeping its historic downtown district, but Paul points out, "even without urban renewal, Marine City has been struggling for 20 years trying to find its identity."
Marine City was pretty much a ghost town until about 10 years ago, when it started its climb to success.
Rent too high for waterfront location?
Rumors that the plaza's landlord was keeping the rent too high for small business owners to take on are not totally true, Kris Paul says. The waterside complex is located seconds away from a spectacular riverside view and the world's largest freshwater boardwalk.
"You can't find these prices anywhere at the location they have," he says. "Rents range from $3- to $16-per-square-foot by multiple owners."
Paul said the plaza is a commercial condominium complex made up of different "blocks" that have different property owners.
Currently, the complex is at about 80 percent capacity, with several restaurants, boutiques, antique stores, salons, day spas, consignment shops and art galleries under its roof. Paul says a 2,500-square-foot dental office just leased space and plaza storefronts are filling up fast. Paul also plans to expand the brewery to create a large production area.
Previously a 'teenage wasteland'
Paul says the plaza was a "teenage wasteland" before strategic planning from investors, city initiatives and grants began to turn the tide. First, leaders began hosting more events after 5 p.m. and on the weekends at the plaza. Hundreds of people started coming out. The association also cut 30 percent of its expenses, cut dues by 20 percent and began to plan for needed infrastructure. The changes appear to be working, says Paul.
"Everything's ready," he says. "My brother and I invested in this to draw people on a regional scale to come to St. Clair. We see a future here."
Enough for everyone
So, how does Marine City fit into the picture? Its downtown is currently exploding with activity and it isn't far away. Marine City and St. Clair are similar in size, but totally different communities.
The consensus seems to be that these differences complement each other.
"There is plenty of room for us all to grow," said Paul. "We have a boat harbor and can take a leisurely walk down our boardwalk."
Pat O'Connor, administrative assistant at the St. Clair Chamber, said the group is working with the Blue Water Area, Marine City Area and the Richmond chambers of commerce to try to tie events together and work together for the good of all.
When people see all the events being offered in neighboring communities, they tend to stay in the area longer, she says.
"We see ourselves as a region," she says, "You make sure they have plenty to do while staying in the area so they'll stay another day or two."
They are currently getting ready for a Beer and Wine Festival, Paddleboard/Kayak Competition, the annual art festival, boat races and more.
"We have four new events that started in the last two years," O'Connor says.
The regional thinking has been the backbone of Pure Michigan's Discover the Blue ad campaign. Sturdy agrees.
"I don't see ourselves as an individual niche, but a county-wide attraction," the city clerk says.
"There are more positive vibes in town," says Cedar. "I feel like success breeds success; business breeds business," he explains. "I hope the momentum will continue."
To reserve an event at the plaza, call (810) 388-9300 or email requests to riverviewplazaevents@gmail.com. For more information, call the St. Clair Chamber of Commerce at (810) 329-2962.