Hanover Downtown Map (Image from the Town of Hanover)
The Town of Hanover is developing a plan to revitalize the downtown core.
Economic Development Manager April Marshall says the Downtown Plan was identified in the town’s strategic plan.
“We got some feedback from our community at that time through those engagement processes. Unfortunately we sometimes hear the negative more than the positive, but that negative just creates that awareness of where we should focus our attention,” says Marshall.
To address concerns surrounding the downtown, the town has partnered with the Downtown Improvement Area (DIA) on the plan, which is focused on a variety of improvements, including in the tourism industry and boosting economic development.
“We want to attract businesses downtown, we want to create that sense of place for our community to come together. It’s really building on that making it a meeting spot. Hanover is very fortunate to have a number of businesses in the commercial corridor and our business park and our entertainment district, but we also know that Hanover is made up of a lot of smaller enterprises. Traditionally our main street, they house our local entrepreneurs, so we just really want to recognize and celebrate that as Hanover continues to grow by continuing that focus on our downtown and keeping it vibrant,” says Marshall.
Work on the plan will be done over three phases. The first phase is research, analyze and engagement with the community until March.
Marshall says in addition to talking to residents, they are also speaking to local businesses.
“We are doing some podcasts so that the interviews are recorded and can be shared to a wider audience,” says Marshall
The second phase will begin developing a path forward to implementation and will be organized into four pillars, design, promotion, economic vitality, and organization.
The final phase will include a detailed action plan for council approval.
On Thursday, residents are being invited to an Idea Jam at the Hanover Civic Centre from 5 p.m. too 7:30 p.m. where they will be able to contribute ideas which will assist in developing practical solutions for the downtown, identify actions and next steps to bring these ideas to life, and build a shared vision for the downtown.
For those unable to attend the event in person, the town is planning a number of ways for residents to get involved. More details can be found on the town’s website here.