MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Mount Clemens plans to move city hall to the downtown central business district to make space for new development along the Clinton River that the public will be able to enjoy.
The state of Michigan allocated $2 million to Mount Clemens to begin the relocation process.
Mayor Laura Kropp hopes in addition to the revitalization and redevelopment of downtown, it brings people to the area, boosting the local economy. One idea is to transform the area into a mixed-use space.
"We want it to be the epicenter of Macomb County," said Kropp.
Kropp says the city of Mount Clemens is in negotiations to secure a building for the new city offices. The next step is gathering funds to also move the fire station and then coming up with a plan to redevelop the east side of the river.
"We're going to bring economic development to Mount Clemens and we're going to take the river and connect it back to our community so that people use it, bring their boats down, and want to spend more time using Mount Clemens as their fun space," said Kropp.
Marcel and Taylor Johnson own Little Daddy's Cheesecakes and have benefited from increased foot traffic downtown over the years and are excited about the possibility of more.
"We had our own customer base before we opened but it's grown exponentially" since then thanks to the influx of new residents and foot traffic in the downtown business area that just seems to keep growing according to Marcel. "It's just been a bonus since we've gotten here."
The downtown area has the least vacancies in a decade.
This all happens as the city prepares to break ground on the downtown revitalization project which will start in March of 2026. People in the area can expect to see major construction, but businesses will remain open.
