Downtown Revitalization Decisions Hammered Out In Committee

(Beaver Dam) Revitalization plans for downtown Beaver Dam continue to be hammered out in committee. Earlier this year, the Beaver Dam Common Council approved borrowing $580-thousand dollars to address four primary elements of the plan: landscaping, trees, a façade grant program and the acquisition and demolition of a Front Street building. The elements were identified in a downtown revitalization study that was unveiled earlier this year. The city’s Community Development Committee Tuesday agreed to the placement of around $21-thousand-dollars’ worth of benches and $10-thousand dollars’ worth of planters throughout the downtown. The city has between $200-and-$300-thousand dollars earmarked for landscaping, depending on the costs of building demolition. No bids were received for a planned landscaping project at the northeast corner or Front and Center, next to the Chinese restaurant. That landscaping project will be rebid after the next city borrowing plan is approved, which is expected later this year. The committee discussed the acquisition and demolition of a Front Street building in closed session Tuesday. No decision was made and discussion is expected to continue later this month. That plan would create a link between the downtown and the new community theatre building being constructed on Maple Avenue.