Gaylord Downtown Gets a Main Street Boost

Gaylord joins Michigan Main Street with an eye toward long-term revitalization

By Kelsey Sanders | Sept. 26, 2026

What happens when your town gets a makeover? Sure, it looks nicer, newer, and perhaps more welcoming, but when a Michigan city is selected by the Michigan Main Street (MMS) program, it’s a large undertaking that ripples through the community, creating more pride, better economic development, and often more tourism.

Michigan Main Street, an official state coordinating program under Main Street America in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) since 2003, is “designed to revitalize and preserve traditional downtowns and commercial districts through historic preservation and economic development.”

Towns can participate in the program at four different levels, with commitments, investments, and assistance increasing at each stage. (The levels are Network, Engaged, Select, Master.) A total of 23 communities currently participate in the MMS program at the Select and Master levels. The next on the list: Gaylord.

“What I’m really excited about is that this process is community driven,” says Lisa Marie Tobin, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) in Gaylord. “Typically, when people think about DDAs or cities, they think top down—that the city is dictating to the residents—but this program flips that, so it’s driven by the community’s needs, wants, desires, and vision they have for their specific community. And it really allows us to lean into who we are, our identity, and what makes us unique from every other community within Michigan.”

Leveling Up

Tobin led the charge for Gaylord through the Engaged level, accomplishing everything that needs to be completed before moving on to the Select level.

“I’m pleased to announce that we were able to get through that level in a year and a half, rather than three years, and it really lays the foundation,” she says. “We assessed the downtown area, collected data, and organized our committees.”

Once a community has completed the Engaged level, it applies for the Select level, which takes approximately five years to complete.

“The Select level opens the door to technical support like grants and funding opportunities that were not previously available to us that can then be passed along to our local businesses,” Tobin explains. “For example, Match on Main is a program that if you’re a Select level community, you can submit a grant and receive funds that can then be applied at an individual level to the businesses for facade improvements and technology improvements. The other thing that’s great about being part of the Select level is that we will be working with experts from the national level.”

The first step for the Select level was forming committees—think design, promotions, economic vitality, organization, etc.—to help guide the process throughout that five-year span. Next comes a “transformation strategy,” and to that end, the DDA has released a survey that will drive the direction for the future of Gaylord’s downtown. Tobin hopes that many residents will complete the survey, but it will also be given to local elected officials, business and property owners in the downtown area, community groups and organizations, and even visitors.

“It’s a holistic approach to setting goals for the future,” says Tobin. “In addition to that, it gives us access to data that we otherwise wouldn’t have access to. It looks at what our assets are, what the market is, where people are coming from, what they’re doing when they visit, how they move through our community, what the needs of those individuals are, as well as where we are oversaturated or undersaturated in terms of industries. Once we have all of that data combined with the qualitative data that’s coming from the community and what their desires are for us as a community, we will establish a framework that we will then set goals from, and then every year we will set a work plan to meet those goals.”

Those goals are still being set. Tobin and the new MMS committees are scheduled to meet at the end of September.

“We’ll have our focus groups, get community input, and we will sit down with America Main Street at that time,” Tobin explains. “Based on the information we gather, we will set the community goals for our downtown, and we will also determine what type of data needs to be collected to ensure that we know that we’re having an impact.”

The Five-Year Plan

Already, there are plenty of ideas from community leaders around what could and should be focused on during the next five years.

“Having a vibrant, active community, specifically a vibrant downtown, is critical to our sense of place and our visitors,” says Paul Beachnau, the executive director of the Gaylord Area Convention and Tourism Bureau. “The number one activity visitors to a community enjoy is shopping. They don’t want traditional shopping opportunities like big box stores, they want authentic, unique memorable shopping experiences.”

Beachnau adds, “I would really like to see our community be more walkable and pedestrian and bike friendly. I would also like to see our downtown merchants engaged and working together in unison.”

Lori Lancaster, DDA chair and AVP branch manager of the local Nicolet Bank, echoes those ideas.

“One of our greatest opportunities is placemaking. By enhancing public gathering spaces and developing the pavilion as a true community destination, we can create an environment that attracts visitors, supports local businesses, and encourages residents to spend more time downtown,” she says. “Over the next two years, I envision a downtown with more retail options, increased foot traffic, and more community events, creating a vibrant destination for residents and visitors. In five years, we hope the pavilion will be a true community destination, drawing people downtown for events, recreation, and connection while supporting local businesses and enhancing the overall downtown experience.”

Tobin is excited to see how Gaylord can lean more into its roots and its architectural look.

“We’re an Alpine Village—that is who we are. It’s very unique. Our initial open house and input from the community was where they really wanted to see us lean into local first and our Alpine identity,” Tobin shares.

While Tobin doesn’t have a crystal ball, she hopes that in five years, Gaylord has a busy downtown with every storefront full where there’s something for everyone.

“I hope to see all of our community members coming together and actively working together towards the betterment of our community, whatever that looks like,” Tobin says. “I think the Michigan Main Street is a great program because it creates a foundation and a framework where the community can come together and determine the future of our downtown and what that means, and all of the support that comes with it.”

Learn more about the Michigan Main Street program at miplace.org/programs/michigan-main-street.