A development project in Cassopolis has received an award for the improvements it’s bringing to the community. The Imagine Cass-Embrace the Vision, Cassopolis Transformation Project is the recipient of the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission’s 2022 Graham Woodhouse Intergovernmental Effort Award. Cassopolis Village Manager Emilie LaGrow tells us the project sought to transform the entire town.
“We had seen some perpetual decline, and we wanted to unite the community under some core principles of community vision, collaboration, citizen led change, and the underlying principle of if you invest in yourself, others will invest in you.”
LaGrow says the Cassopolis Transformation Project included the elimination of five blighted buildings, the addition of murals throughout the community, 20,000 feet of new roads, and the MI Advanced Research and Technology Park, or SMART Park. The plan was put together with public input and help from several partners.
“Imagine what we could look like, what we could be, the legacy we wanted to leave, and then we held multiple community engagement sessions and community events.”
LaGrow says the Cassopolis Transformation Project is ongoing, currently in its second phase. That will include more work to the new municipal beach, a housing project, and additional murals around town. The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission selected the project for the award due to the collaboration that went into it.
