Meeting set on Havre Downtown Master Plan

An update on plans to revitalize downtown Havre is set for next week, with the company drafting a master plan for the area coming to give an update and collect input from the community.

A press release said the team from High Plains Architects in Billings will be in Havre Thursday, April 14, for a community meeting. The public meeting will be held in Havre's Historic Post Office in downtown Havre starting at 5:30 p.m.

Work to develop a master plan for Havre's downtown area has been in the works for several years.

Downtown Havre Matters! was formed to try to find ways to improve the area, and one of the first steps was to apply to the Montana Department of Commerce's Montana Main Street Program which provides a range of services and assistance to communities striving to enhance economic and business vitality while maintaining local historic integrity, quality of life and sense of place. The program offers technical assistance and expertise to member communities and awards competitive grant funding to communities actively working on downtown revitalization, economic development and historic preservation.

Havre was approved as a member of the program, which now includes 34 communities, in 2020 and then applied for a grant to develop a downtown master plan.

The driving forces behind the plan have been the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce, Bear Paw Development Corp., the city of Havre and Downtown Havre Matters!

The plan is being funded in part by the Hill County Community Foundation, Montana Main Street Program and the Big Sky Trust Fund Program.

The press release said the April 14 community meeting will be fairly interactive. High Plains Architects will have comment boards, of visual aids and may give a short power point presentation to recap and summarize all the great feedback they received from the first trip along with more than 500 replies to a Facebook survey it conducted.

The meeting will also include collecting public input on proposed boundaries, street options, signage concepts and placement, and, potentially, a few façade improvement sketches for key buildings and blocks and so on.

In January following a presentation at the Havre Chamber's annual meeting, High Plains Architects team members Randy Hafer, Brad Kahler and Kelly Beavers spent time exploring downtown Havre, visiting with business owners and listening to ideas and challenges, the release said, and giving them an opportunity to look at assets in the downtown area.

"Havre's downtown core has a compelling history, complete with a famous 'beneath the streets' attraction and great building blocks and bones to become a really special place again," the request for proposal said. "The economic ripple effect of investing in the downtown district has the potential to be far-reaching and benefit the entire community."

Part of the goal of creating a master plan is strengthening place identity, which builds communities by making memorable and meaningful places, the release said. A special experience or something unique to Havre is one goal of the Master Plan development. Places that are authentic and distinctive add value to communities - historic buildings, a unique art scene like Havre's Art Alley, specific cultural attributes like Montana Actors' Theatre and fun shops and restaurants to explore.

The community meeting is the second of three planned meetings with Havre business leaders and the community.

"Participation in this meeting is key to the development of this plan," the release said. "Please join us. Input from the businesses is critical to assure that the downtown core of Havre has the look and feel that is conductive to future investment and inviting to both visitors and residents.

"Downtown is everyone's neighborhood," the release adds.

More information is available at the project website at http://www.downtownhavre.com .