Plaza Project Meeting

                                Cuba City Presidential Plaza Project Seeks Public Input

Several decades ago shopping malls began to appear across the nation, and when they did it wreaked havoc upon small town Main Streets. Not only were the locally owned businesses closing at an alarming rate, but many communities lost their gathering places and local sense of identity. This trend is being reversed as the malls are now closing and many cities and towns are seeking to re-establish their downtowns. With the assistance of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cuba City is planning to create a new community space on Main Street. The goal is to design a space that brings the community together, while also bringing new customers to Main Street businesses.

Operating as one of the University’s Senior Design Projects, the team is evaluating options to turn the area by the Presidential Caboose into a multi-function area that offers a wide range of activities including music, art, games and fitness options. In the past two years, Cuba City has based its Christmas Glow programming at this location and in 2019 it became the new home to the City’s long running Community Market. Both of these moves resulted in positive outcomes. “It was great to see so many young people visiting the Caboose” said Mayor Tom Gile. “At both the Christmas Glow and the Community Markets, we saw entire families coming downtown to partake of the activities.”

Last summer, Dodgeville held a “pop up plaza” program in its downtown, also to great success. Blocking off a street in its downtown, the City hosted a week of wide-ranging activities and functions and the response from the community was nearly unanimous in support of further programs downtown.

The items under consideration include green space, trees and flowers, more seating, a portable stage and student artwork displays. A public meeting will be held on Monday, March 16th at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall in Cuba city. The public is encouraged to attend. Questions may be directed to Cuba City’s Economic Development Director, Bob Jones. Mr. Jones can be reached at 608-744-2152 or via email at cubacitycdc@gmail.com