The mill pond north of Main Street has been the topic of a riverfront development project for a few years but is currently delayed pending the outcome of grant applications the Village expects to submit in Spring 2016.

As crews began work in August on both the Shared Use Trail and the Main Street Bridge in Manchester, speculation was also buzzing about the possibility of riverfront development near the mill pond north of the Main Street Bridge.

While riverfront development is still a strong priority for the Village Council, there are many other projects (in addition to the two aforementioned) that Village administration is focusing on this year. In addition, lost grant opportunities last year that could have been used to work on this project along with expanded parking on the corner​ of Main Street and M-52, have delayed the plans for development still further.

However, Village Manager Jeff Wallace said that this is still a viable project and new grants will be applied for in the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ next round of funding to help make this a reality. Changes and adaptations to the grant applications will include efforts to score higher in areas where the village’s plan was lacking in the first round of allocations.

Village representatives attended the Washtenaw County Parks open house held at Sharon Mills park on Sunday, in part to review and comment on the master plan for the park and the River Raisin as it heads south to the village. Wallace said he hopes that the outcome of this meeting would include portions of the plan, such as a possible canoe livery from Sharon Mills to the Village, that would help the village score higher in the spring 2016 grant process.

“With everything we are accomplishing right now, some things take time to develop,” Wallace said.  “[The grant process] can get very involved; we are trying to tidy up areas where we need to score higher, but it is really complex and we are also trying to keep this cost effective.”