HASTINGS, Mich. (WOOD) — A multimillion-dollar project aimed to revitalize downtown Hastings is wrapping up nearly a year after construction began.
While the new roadway is a welcome change for many business owners, the roadwork has taken a toll on businesses.
Since Hastings started revamping its downtown last September, Melissa Gillons, who owns a clothing shop downtown, said her sales have been down 60%. Monthslong closures of parts of State Street kept many people away from businesses.
“You really have to tighten things up,” Gillons said. “It determines what you can purchase for the future, for fall, for Christmas.”
Gillons opened The Clothier in December 2021. It’s a two-story clothing and boutique shop that does in-house alterations.
Businesses on Cesar E. Chavez struggle amid construction
“I think there was a need,” she said. “There wasn’t a lot of clothing options for the community, and I wanted to bring down quality clothing people can get.”
Dan King, the city’s community development director, said the area hadn’t been updated since the early 1990s. The street had become unsafe, he said.