Halfway done, more or less.

That’s the assessment of engineers involved in the $6.5 million revitalization project designed to spruce up downtown Mount Clemens and make it more user-friendly to encourage more businesses openings in the area.

The project includes a complete renovation of Macomb Place between North Walnut and Pine Street, all of Cherry Street Mall from the Roskopp Parking Lot to Market Street, and a full reconstruction of the New Street Parking Lot, according to information on the city’s website.

“Timeline-wise, we’re a little bit more than halfway through from when we started in the spring to our completion date in November,” said Jacob Fenech, a graduate engineer with the Shelby Township-based civil engineering firm of Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick.

AEW designed, planned, and is overseeing the revitalization project.

The scope of the work includes replacing underground sewage infrastructure, sidewalks and restructure Macomb Place. The streets and the sidewalks will be made of pavers.

Crews spent this past pre-Fourth of July week laying out and smoothing the concrete on Macomb Place before breaking Thursday afternoon for the holiday weekend.

A block over, work on the New Street Parking Lot is a little ahead of schedule, engineers said. The concrete aspect is done, but crews still need to install light poles, a pay station, add striping lines, and landscape the facility.

All of that work is anticipated to be done in July, according to AEW. Work on the Cherry Street Mall was done in June. Also completed is much of the underground work on water mains and pipes to prevent flooding on the roadway.

“It’s going really smooth,” Fenech said. “With the underground work the public doesn’t really see but it’s big to get that out of the way.”

Mount Clemens City Mayor Laura Kropp and City Manager Gregg Shipman have said the project is a “game changer.” They say the downtown hasn’t had a revitalization project in nearly 40 years.

Shipman said the city will also relocate and rebuild the Fountain Stage, which is used for events.

The majority of the work is scheduled to be complete by November, with other items to be addressed in the spring of 2026.

Attracting business

Mount Clemens officials and boosters say the project is expected to make the downtown more accessible and inviting for people who visit the district.

“For me, this is a dream come true,” said Michelle Weiss of the city’s Downtown Development Authority and a former longtime retail business owner in Mount Clemens. “We were able to secure some grants for the work and now we’re doing the work that has been needed for decades. I absolutely feel blessed.”

Weiss, who has been with the city for the past 25 years, said although the work has impeded traffic, she was surprised to find five new businesses opened up within the downtown district in recent months despite streets being torn up.

She said a number of promotions, including pop-up restaurant events featuring the city’s collection of eateries, will take place in July and August to help stimulate the local economy during the project.

“I know it’s not easy right now but we’ve found a willingness by some new owners to come in and open during the construction. We expect more will want to locate here when we’re done to the point we’re going to have a hard time finding space for them,” Weiss said.

One of those new shops is Craven Raven on Cherry Street, a family-run bakery that offers a $5 lunches, donuts, and custom-made cakes, as well as homemade beauty products, greeting cards designed by local artists, and assorted knickknacks.

“I knew the construction was coming when we moved in about two months ago,” said owner Angela Beckett. a Mount Clemens resident. “People like the quaint nature of our town. I don’t even have a sign up yet and there are still people coming through our door as we speak.”

Business owners say they have been surprised that many of the construction workers working on the revitalization project return on the weekends to shop and dine with their families.

Husband-wife team Davey and Lisa Taylor opened the combination Weirdsville Records and Paperback Writer Book Store on Macomb Place around 2011.

Lisa Taylor acknowledged business is down by an estimated 20%, but she attributes the slowdown as much to other factors including economic conditions caused by the uncertainty over tariffs and taxes as she does to the construction.

“We’re a destination shopping experience as we have a selection of good books and records,” Taylor said. “So our customers will put up with the streets being torn up for a bit. They’ll still show up for us.

“We’re going to be OK and the city will be better off once this project is complete.”