Downtown Moorhead will be getting a new look in the coming years. But the final result will depend on the feedback provided by residents, business owners, education and civic leaders over a community discussion that kicked off with a press conference and feedback session at the Rourke Art Gallery + Museum on February 16. That’s when the formation of The Downtown Moorhead Project was announced.

The Downtown Moorhead Project is led by a steering group, which includes business owners, civic leaders and the presidents of Concordia College, Minnesota State Community and Technical College and Minnesota State University Moorhead. This group has secured nearly half a million dollars from 28 community investors to fund a three year project to envision and create a new downtown neighborhood.

Organizers hope to build “a downtown that’s as much for people pushing strollers […] as those who are pushing walkers,” said Concordia College President William Craft. The project seeks to reimagine the city’s core, creating gathering places and finding new ways to integrate the business and educational communities into the neighborhood.

The project’s first steps are to establish the Downtown Moorhead Project as a nonprofit organization, hire an executive director and put a board of directors in place. The project will seek public feedback later this year The Downtown Moorhead Project will partner with the FM Area Foundation, which is a fiscal sponsor. For more information or to assist with planning efforts, please contact 701-234-0756.