Vision becoming clear for what 'new Cassopolis' could look like

“There could be beaches, there could be a big pier going out and it could become a destination,” said Ted Gogol, resident of Cassopolis.

The vision is becoming clear in Cassopolis. Residents want a vibrant downtown and they’re ready to do what it takes to make it happen.

ABC 57 News told you back in January, Michigan State University teamed up with Cass County and village officials to develop a vision called Imagine Cass where the Broadway Street corridor is reinvented. And while Wednesday’s final meeting started off like any other, it ended a little differently with a band and some good grub to get residents pumped.

“This is going to happen, we’re going to move forward and this is just the launching pad to make something really cool at Stone Lake in Cassopolis,” said Gogol.

Gogol was one of more than 200 people who showed up to see just what their feedback from may’s meeting looked like in Powerpoint visuals presented

“Through this process, through literally putting pictures on the wall, and having post-it notes and comments, the community could actually weigh in before this was even close to being reality,” said Wayne Beyea, Michigan State University School of Planning, Design and Construction.

And just in case project leaders missed something, community members had the opportunity to write down what matters most to them in the project and hand that over to those leading it.

“We’ll take that as well and be able to share that with the county and the village,” said Beyea.

Project leaders tell me they’re currently making moves to implement some of the smaller projects in the near future and taking care of some of the behind the scenes stuff before any big changes are implemented.

“You have to look at kind of a 5 year horizon, that is a good kind of benchmark to be able to say ‘what can we do in the next year, year and a half, what are going to be more of that 2-3 years,” said Beyea.

“That is what interests us, is really bringing back Cassopolis, what it used to be it’s the county seat. There’s just this hunger for something to be vibrant and exciting and fun in downtown Cass,” said Gogol.

Click here for the full Powerpoint presentation: