Placemaking in Action: Building Vibrant Communities

An Innovative Cities Lecture

Creating vibrant and engaging communities helps communities recruit and retain residents, supports public gathering places in the heart of our communities, and fosters community connections. Learn about the WEDC Vibrant Communities grant and how projects create accessible locations for programming and amenities desired by local residents, with the additional benefit of boosting foot traffic for nearby businesses.

In Waupaca, planning efforts led to a series of public and private initiatives designed to foster revitalization of the historic downtown area. Strategic investments by the community resulted in public and private investments that attracted new businesses, increased opportunities for community engagement and generated additional foot traffic throughout the district. In Waupun, targeted efforts to revitalize an underutilized anchor property and adjacent vacant lot spurred additional activity, led to additional community events and supported new entrepreneurial activity in the community. 

Biographies

Errin Welty is the Senior Director of Downtown Development at WEDC, managing the Main Street and Connect Communities programs. She previously worked as a market analyst at Vierbicher, working with public and private sector clients to create market-based solutions to solve economic and planning issues, and as Vice President of Client Services for Grubb & Ellis, managing marketing and research for the firm’s Denver office. Errin has significant planning and real estate experience, having been on staff with downtown organizations in both St. Cloud, MN and Denver, CO, and a founding member of Wheat Ridge 2020, an economic development organization focused on revitalizing one of Denver’s original inner-ring suburbs.

Greg Grohman connects nonprofit, governmental, and educational partners to the critical resources they need to better serve their communities. As a grant writer for the City of Waupaca, he has generated over $11 million for organizations, securing funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice, the WI Economic Development Corporation, the WI Department of Transportation, the WI Department of Public Instruction, the WI Department of Natural Resources, Bader Philanthropies Inc., and the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.

Katharine Schlieve is the City Administrator and Director of Economic Development for the City of Waupun. She is responsible for providing strategic leadership and working with a diverse set of stakeholders to establish long-range goals, strategies, plans and policies that advance the city’s mission. She developed and implemented a comprehensive economic development strategy for the city including business retention & expansion, business recruitment, redevelopment, planning, and general administration.

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