Utica outdoor plaza on track for autumn 2022, if the village gets grant

If Utica gets the grant money to build an outdoor retail plaza — the village finds out in April — the shops could be open by autumn and already a few vendors are interested.

Thursday, the Utica Planning Commission unveiled the design for the Shoppes of Mini Mill Street, the seasonal shopping plaza the village hopes to develop north of the tornado memorial. Utica proposes to own the portable buildings and lease them to vendors from May to December.

The sketches show a faux stone retaining wall to protect the stalls from flooding plus a “welcome plaza” set up over stamped concrete. Plans currently show a dozen portable stalls (each would be 12 feet square with a 4-foot porch) with room to add more stalls if outdoor shopping catches on.

“Other towns have had some success with this,” said Kevin Heitz, village engineer, citing model projects in Batavia and Muskegon, Michigan.

Planning Commissioner Doug Gift said he had visited Batavia’s “Boardwalk” and he was impressed with the layout and diversity of the products for sale.

“I think the project would work well here,” Gift said.

Planning Commissioner Andy Skoog asked if the village would have the opportunity to move the portable stalls to another location should a developer come along proposing a permanent structure. Answer: Possibly, but the grant might come with strings attached that could make it more appealing to keep the portable stalls.

Heitz emphasized the concept plan is fluid and, because a final design will take two to three months, “There’s still plenty of time for input and for changes.”

The design was well received at Thursday’s meeting and the village already has a few interested vendors.

One prospective tenant is Sara Renner, owner of The SUD Co., a women’s and children’s apparel business. She’s looking to expand her business but needs flexible hours and isn’t quite ready for a brick-and-mortar investment, so renting a portable retail stall is an attractive option.

“I think this would be ideal,” Renner said prior to Thursday’s meeting, “and I live here in Utica so the location would be phenomenal.”

If the village gets the money, that is. Otherwise, the project won’t get off the ground.

The Utica Village Board agreed to apply for the Rebuild Downtown and Main Street Grant Program, needed to defray project costs of nearly $1.5 million. The board has pledged $250,000, but only if the grant is awarded.

The Mill Street parcels have been vacant since a 2004 tornado leveled the Milestone Restaurant and Lounge along with surrounding buildings. The lot is in the Clark’s Run flood plain, which has scared off developers.

The village’s solution is what Heitz described as “pop-up shops” to attract vendors and provide an estimated 54 parking spaces. Utica would extend the beautification of Mill Street — adding more crisscrossing light strands, for example — a block north to include the outdoor plaza and the old fire station across the street.