The Plymouth Downtown Development Authority formally accepted a final concept report on Monday, June 8, for a project that will reshape downtown Plymouth's streetscape for the first time in more than 15 years.
The project, branded DTPForward, encompasses 17 sub-projects across the downtown retail and restaurant district. Design firm SmithGroup delivered the report after nearly a year of community engagement that drew more than 1,100 survey responses and three public open houses. The DDA's project page states construction will not begin until 2027.
Plymouth Community Chamber of Commerce President Wes Graff highlighted the collaboration in a column published Monday, July 20, in Plymouth Today, a quarterly community magazine. Graff wrote that the DDA presented the streetscape plan to the Chamber's board of directors earlier in 2026 and collected feedback before the design was finalized.
"Just this year, we had the Plymouth Downtown Development Authority give a special presentation and get feedback from our Board of Directors about their streetscape project for Downtown Plymouth, which was just finalized," Graff wrote.
The Chamber, which circulates more than $200,000 in gift cards annually across 135 downtown businesses, has a direct stake in how the streetscape redesign affects foot traffic and storefronts.
A year of public input
DTPForward launched in 2025 after the DDA Board approved a five-year strategic action plan in August 2024 that identified a streetscape upgrade as a top priority. The board contracted with SmithGroup in August 2025.
Public engagement included two online surveys (871 responses to the first, 301 to the second), three open houses, stakeholder work sessions, and pop-up events at downtown gatherings including Downtown Day and the Plymouth Ice Festival. The third and final open house took place Wednesday, May 20, at Plymouth Cultural Center, 525 Farmer Street.
SmithGroup presented an 80-plus-slide first draft to the DDA Board on April 13 outlining the 17 sub-projects and estimated budget parameters. Specific dollar figures have not been made public.
Funding and next steps
The City of Plymouth's 2026-27 budget includes language about aggressively pursuing grant funding tied to DTPForward, according to the city's June Plymouth Pulse newsletter. The City Commission's 2026 task list, approved in February, calls for finalizing the streetscape design and beginning implementation planning.
No date has been announced for the next public meeting on implementation. The DDA also presented the project to the Kiwanis Club of Colonial Plymouth, Plymouth Garden Club of Michigan, Rotary Club of Plymouth, and Plymouth-Canton Educational Park business classes as part of its outreach effort.
Implementation planning is the DDA's next phase, though no timeline for that work has been set publicly beyond the 2027 construction target.
