CALUMET, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Wednesday Frozen Farms Company, a local meat and cooking supply company in Calumet, cut the ribbon on their new space in a redeveloped building in Calumet’s downtown. Frozen Farm’s owner Jean McParlan said after the success the business was seeing, they wanted to help improve the community.
“To see downtown Calumet grow and improve and to see more vitality happening all along the main street,” said McParlan. “We love Calumet, and we just want to continue to see it grow and come back to life.”
The project cost $737,778, which the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and local Downtown Development Authority (DDA) helped provide. Leah Polzien the executive director of Mainstreet Calumet, which helped connect the business to the funding they needed, says the project will go a long way towards revitalizing Calumet’s Downtown.
“This is just a great step in that direction,” said Polzien. “It’s beautification, we’re here in beautiful retail space that offers products you’re not going to get at your local big box store, so it’s really a great benefit to our community.”
Jeff Ratcliffe the executive director for the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance (KEDA), which helped package the project for funding, says this project is a key part of their larger economic development goals for the are.
“The town itself had suffered from that downturn for fifty years,” said Ratcliffe. “So our effort is to get it back to where it needs to be to support the economy it has around it, as well as the larger Keweenaw economy.”
Polzien said in the future they would like to see many more projects like this one.
“We would really like to see a business in every building, upper floors occupied with residents who are living in our community, living downtown, enjoying the easy walkable community that we have and downtown shopping retail access,” said Polzien.
For more information about Frozen Farms check out their website.
