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Duluth has seen plans before — glossy binders, big promises, little follow-through.
The 80-page Imagine Downtown Duluth strategy unveiled Tuesday is the latest attempt to rewrite that history. The goals are familiar: brighter streets, new housing, storefront revival, public amenities.
The question is whether this plan can execute where others failed.
“Plans are great, but it’s the execution,” said Shaun Floerke, president of the Boreal Waters Community Foundation and a member of the downtown leadership team. “It’s a plan, and now we find out if we can make it work. We’re going to have to dig in and make it work.”
Backers argue the difference this time is accountability. Leaders promise a clear structure alongside the vision — a Downtown Partnership Council, annual scorecards, and work groups tasked with hitting targets.
Whether those structures deliver action or just more paperwork determines whether residents believe this plan has teeth. Duluthians know the rhetoric. They want proof.
“You can’t do 75 things at once,” Floerke said. “You’ll have to pick the important ones and start swinging at them. Let’s talk about a project, let’s do something. And then you make a wave by starting and accomplishing a thing. And then another thing and another thing.”
The strategy grew out of a year of surveys, open houses, and walking tours. Residents said they want cleaner sidewalks, safer blocks, compassion for the vulnerable, and more housing. Consultants organized those priorities into five buckets:
Safety: lighting, a 24/7 ambassador program, expanded outreach.
Housing & economic development: incentives to add hundreds of units within five years, plus support for entrepreneurs.
Amenities: childcare, a grocery, cultural programming, public restrooms, pop-up events.
Infrastructure: sidewalks, snow removal, cycling links, wayfinding, green design.
Partnerships: the new council and scorecards.
The sequencing matters: short-term wins in 18 months, bigger projects in years two and three, major redevelopments over time. On paper, it’s well thought out. But Duluthians have seen roadmaps before. The real test is whether any of it gets done.
“This plan is a roadmap to execute,” Floerke said. “So now it’s time to start executing.”
Even the best ideas stall without financing. Interest rates are high. Capital is tight.
“One of our thrusts is to pull some money from Wall Street and invest it on Main Street,” Floerke said. “We got all our money in Nvidia and the market. While places around here are shuttering, why don’t we return to the way we used to do it and invest part of our assets right here?”
It’s a challenge to local investors and foundations. However, until the dollars are committed, financing will remain the most significant gap between aspiration and progress.
The plan itself admits downtowns are not guaranteed. Across the Midwest, cities are racing to reinvent themselves. Duluth risks falling behind.
That’s why leaders stress accountability. Scorecards will track what’s completed, what’s in motion, and what’s stalled. The Partnership Council will be tasked with making sure it doesn’t drift.
“All four groups will start mapping out what those execution plans are, and then inviting people to help lift,” Floerke said.
Floerke often points to Macon, Ga., where steady reinvestment over two decades reshaped a struggling downtown.
“Steady, steady, steady,” he said. “And when they’ve accomplished it, they will do another set of activations. Do another do, do. And that’s what we’re going to be doing. And if we don’t, then it’s shame on us.”
For Duluth, the proof will not come in reports or meetings, but in visible results — brighter blocks, occupied storefronts, families living downtown.
“I’ve got a buddy who works in this space in a different city, and they talk about it. Everybody talks about potential, which is valid,” Floerke said. “Let’s talk about a project, let’s do something. And then you make a wave by starting and accomplishing a thing. And then another thing and another thing.”
The vision is of a downtown filled with light and life; whether this plan delivers that reality is the question now facing Duluth.
“If we don’t, then shame on us,” Floerke said.
