The market will be at the foot of the 2nd Avenue bridge where the former Alpena Power Co. office was.

Anne Gentry, executive director for the DDA, said the board voted to buy five 10’x12′ tiny shops that will be leased out to businesses. A 24’x12′ shed was also purchased and will be used as a taproom where people can purchase cocktails and utilize the downtown’s social district.

The currently-unnamed market will also have a space and electrical hook-up for food trucks and, at times, live entertainment.

Gentry said the plan is to have the market open in time for many of the large-scale events in the Alpena area to begin.

Courtesy Image A rendering of the small buildings businesses will use in the planned market in downtown Alpena is seen in this courtesy image.

“We are targeting to be open by Memorial Day, but we will know for sure in the next few weeks,” Gentry said. “We definitely want to be open for the high traffic events in June for things like the Flower Festival and the MATE ROV World Championship.”

Gentry said there will be an application process, and the DDA will decide which businesses will fill the small stores.

“In the next few weeks, we will be launching a business application for businesses interested in leasing a tiny shop or the beverage shed,” she said. “We are targeting businesses that diversify what is currently offered downtown.”

Since the news about the project broke earlier this year, Gentry said there has been a lot of interest from potential businesses and excitement from the public. She said similar markets in other communities are popular and they help to increase business for other nearby shops and restaurants.

“We have had a lot of excitement about this project from the community and are excited to move forward with it,” Gentry said. “It aligns with a lot of our key goals as the DDA to activate the riverfront, bring additional foot traffic downtown, and provide a low-risk entry point for businesses to try out downtown and hopefully then consider a brick-and-mortar location.”

Currently, Target Alpena owns the property, and it is for sale. The goal is to find a developer to purchase the land and build a mixed-use family consisting of commercial shops on the first floor and housing above it. Several developers have expressed interest in doing so, but plans have fallen through.

Gentry said if the property is sold, the small stores can easily be moved to another location or be sold so the DDA can recoup its investment.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.