Project Name: Laker Alley
What is your first and last name?
Stefanie Herder
What are your preferred pronouns?
She/her/hers
What city or village do you live in?
[534]Does your neighborhood have a name? If so what is it?
[535]Are you connected with anyone in your local government?
[536]Are you applying as a business owner, artist, non-profit, DDA, or Commercial Improvement District?
[280]Where will your project take place?
The Alley between Field’s Fabrics (212 W. Savdige) and Mama Mia’s (218 W. Savidge) Spring Lake
Briefly describe your project idea:
The alley between Field’s Fabric’s and Mama Mia’s is a small space but has lots of potential. We would like name the alley and have it as a destination in our downtown’s Social District. This could be a great gathering space for drinks, food, art, and local history. Spring Lake is home to the Lakers
How will you be involved in this project? Who will you worth with?
We’d like their help with picking the name of the alley. We would have a naming competition on our social media and more. We will reach out to local media to promote the project and how you can suggest a name. We would also share constant progress updates on all of our social channels and website.
Describe the artist’s or artists’ work. This is not about credentials—what do they do as an artist?
Maggie paints gorgeous scenes of colorful flowers, forests, and more. She can do small scale and large scale paintings. We’ve been wanting to work with her for some time now.
Please upload a letter of support for your project from your local governing body:
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Additional Attachments (if any)
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Why does your community need this project?
With the implementation of the Spring Lake Social District in 2021, we have been working on adding more public gathering areas within the social district. We don’t have a lot of outdoor seating options in the Social District currently. With Smoke N Ash’s taking over and renovating Mama Mia’s, they are bringing a fresh start to that beloved business and will be extending hours and their menu. They will partner with neighboring Stan’s Bar on to-go orders and social district drinks. Field’s Fabrics draws in quilting and sewing fans from all over the state. Many times the quilter will travel with someone who’s not a fan of hanging out in a fabric store. Instead of waiting in their car, they could come and hang out in the alley, maybe grab a drink or something to eat, read a book, or just simply sit and take in the artwork and local history. It could be a nice family dining option too. Parents could get food from Smoke N Ash’s and social drinks from one of the bars/restaurants. The family could take it to the alley to dine and have family friendly time. We have a need for more family dining experiences in the Village.
What do you hope to achieve through this project?
Having people gather outside! We think this would be a nice amenity for the Village as a whole and goes along with our placemaking efforts. It would provide added value and use of the social district since we don’t have a dedicated gathering spot with the needed amenities currently. Our vision is to see folks come down for lunch and dinner during the warmer months. They can bring their own dinner or they can order from one of the restaurants in the district. This would benefit many businesses in the social district and the rest of the Village. We could even see folks working on their laptops outside on nice days in the alley.
How do you plan to spend the $5,000 microgrant?
We would like to name the alley (with help from the two businesses and community) and add signage. We’d purchase decorative signage, planters, garbage cans, lighting, and yard type games for activities. We would work with a local artist, Maggie Bandstra, and pay for her work to be on display and mounted to the huge alley wall. We would also like local history on display in the space since the original building in that space is from the late 1800s. The owner of Fields has done some historical research on the building and we would also work with the Tri-Cities Historical Museum on photos and information. If we have funds remaining, we’d like to add accessible seating. Smoke N Ash’s hopes to have outdoor dining in that space and around their building once they are done with renovations. They would help provide additional seating and help maintain the space. During the holidays, it will be used as a feature of our Village-wide Spring Lake Sparkle holiday lights displays.
What resources do you already have to make this project successful? Resources could include things like time, partners, expertise, donated goods/materials/space, matching funds, and more. Please approximate the in-kind value if possible.
The DDA Director would put in most of the legwork for the planning and implementation of the space. Smoke N Ash’s has offered to help maintain the space and is interested in adding seating to the space. We have an Art in the Park program and committee that we will use to select the pieces of art.
Will your project require special permits from the community you are in? For example, anything that requires a street closure or installing a permanent art piece will likely require a special permit from your local governing body or zoning board. If your project is funded, the MML Foundation is happy to help you navigate that process. Please note that all applicants must obtain any necessary permits for their projects, if selected for funding. *
Unsure
Anticipated project launch date:
August 18, 2023
Will you serve as the primary point of contact for this application?
[291]Lead Artist First and Last Name:
Maggie Bandstra
Lead Artist Website (If Applicable):
https://www.maggiebandstra.com/
Business 1: Business Name:
Field’s Fabrics
Business 1: Business Type:
Retail
Business 1: Business Owner First and Last Name:
Jack Veldman
Business 1: Physical Location Address
212 W. Savidge, Spring Lake
Business 1: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
Business 1: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
https://www.facebook.com/fieldsfabricsspringlake
Business 1: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
Business 2: Business Name:
Smoke N Ash’s (Formerly Mama Mia’s)
Business 2: Business Type:
Restaurant
Business 2: Business Owner First and Last Name:
Brad & Alex Ashcraft
Business 2: Business Physical Location Address:
218 W. Savidge, Spring Lake
Business 2: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
Business 2: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
https://www.facebook.com/smokenashs
Business 2: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
Business 3: Business Name:
[325]Business 3: Business Type:
[507]Business 3: Business Owner First and Last Name:
[326]Business 3: Physical Location Address
[327]Business 3: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
[374]Business 3: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
[373]Business 3: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
[383]Please list the names of any additional partners:
[336]Image Caption 1 (if any): Street front view from M-104/Savidge. Field’s Fabric is to the left and Smoke N Ash’s is to the right. The alley is approximately 10 feet wide and 70 feet long. 96 feet if you go from curb to curb. These two locations are on M-104/Savidge and have 20,000+ cars that pass by every day. A decorative sign could catch attention and get people to stop in the Village to check it out.
Image 1 (if any):
Image Caption 2 (if any): Backside of the alley which connects to a public parking lot. Smoke N Ash’s is on the left and Field’s Fabric is on the right.
Image 2 (if any):
Image Caption 3 (if any): Smoke N Ash’s is currently renovating the former Mama Mia’s building. They will be looking to do a Facade grant and could possibly use some of those funds to help add even more to this alley project.
Image 3 (if any):
Image Caption 4 (if any): Another look while inside the alley
Image 4 (if any):
Image Caption 5 (if any): View looking from Alley to M-104/Savidge.
Image 5 (if any):
