Downtown Alley Project Makes the Grade

If you cast a vote for the proposed downtown Saline “Alley Project” in the Let’s Save Michigan “placemaking” contest, you helped make the project a finalist for up to $2,000 in grant funding.

In voting conducted on the Let’s Save Michigan website, finished ninth with 1486 votes. The top ten finalists are headed to panel of judges who will determine the grand prize project and multiple runners-up.

"Thank you to everyone who supported the project. Daily voting has put us in the top 10. We will wait to see what the judges have to say. Either way the alley project is an exciting project for Downtown Saline," said Kelly Idzikowski, Manager of the Saline Main Street program.

The Alley Project is proposed to help find a higher use for the alley way between and the old Little Ceasar’s building.

The Saline Main Street program is partnering with local businesses and the city to “mprove and beautify an underutilized, forgotten space in downtown Saline into a much needed community gathering space.”

The project would be funded by property owners, fundraising and other stakeholders.

Here's how the project is described on the Let's Save Michigan website:

Saline is blessed with many attractive amenities, but one thing we lack is a downtown gathering space. Our desire is to create a small, but attractive and welcoming area in this alleyway. We envision peaceful outdoor seating for our restaurants, festive lighting, bountiful planters of blooming flowers and dynamic “galleries” for artwork. By transforming this space, we can create a vibrant place for gathering, dining, and celebrating. Through Saline Main Street, we want to work together across the community to create unique and diverse events that appeal to every group. We imagine linking our merchants, Historical Society, service clubs, Chamber of Commerce, City of Saline and arts organizations to fill the alleyway with events like: an “alley cat” pet adoption, an art show, a wine tasting, a theater performance or an educational presentation on our town’s history.

The beauty of gathering in an alleyway is that it is currently an unused asset. Under ordinary circumstances a community gathering in Saline means closing streets and parking lots which disrupts everyday commerce and is inconvenient to shoppers, diners, merchants and residents. Alleyway events don’t block streets or parking lots, they only expand the usable assets that already exist in our downtown.