DDA Updates: 2026 Ballot Push for New TIF Plan, Downtown Events
By Beth Milligan | Dec. 22, 2025
In addition to a closed-door session to discuss the results of a recent audit, Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board members Friday agreed to pursue putting a new tax increment finance (TIF) plan on the ballot in 2026. The board also heard updates on several downtown events.
Moving Downtown Forward TIF Plan
With a 2027 expiration looming for TIF 97 – one of two TIF plans that help fund most downtown programs and projects, along with Old Town TIF – DDA leaders will kick off a process in January to prepare a new TIF plan to go to voters in November.
Board members voted Friday to establish a …
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Festival of Trains
Runs Dec. 20 - Jan. 3. Santa visits on Sat., Dec. 21 & Sat., Dec. 27 from 1-3pm. … More Info >>10:00 AM
OAC Holiday Artisan Boutique
Find gifts from regional artists showcasing a variety of ready-to-gift handmade items, holiday cards, ornaments, accessories & more. … More Info >>10:00 AM
Winter Member Exhibition
Dec. 5 - Jan. 2. Opening reception on Dec. 5 from 5-7pm. OAC member showcase is an all-media … More Info >>11:00 AM
8th Annual Art Tree & Ornament Show
Featuring hundreds of handmade ornaments. Opening reception will be held on Dec. 4 from 5-8pm. Runs through New … More Info >>11:00 AM
Beneath the Surface: Training Tomorrow’s Water Stewards
The Great Lakes Water Studies Institute at NMC is advancing freshwater, groundwater, & marine science through cutting-edge technology, … More Info >>11:00 AM
Dewey Blocksma: Roundtable
Blocksma's artwork is a gathering of figures & ideas, real & imagined, informed by medicine & art. Common … More Info >>11:00 AM
Doug Cannell: "Selections from Backstories"
An introduction to Doug Cannell’s works that merge sculpture, installation, & storytelling into layered experiences. Cannell creates objects … More Info >>11:00 AM
Ice Into Ocean: Arctic Tracings
This exhibition is the result of a seven year collaboration between Cy Keener & Justine Holzman, exploring how … More Info >>11:00 AM
Impressions of an Era: Prints from the Denison Museum Collection
This selection of prints, created between 1970 & 1990 by nationally & internationally recognized contemporary artists, reflects two … More Info >>11:00 AM
Local Artist Melonie Steffes Solo Exhibit: Wilder Alternatives
Featuring Steffes' whimsical imagined realism oil paintings. Runs through Dec. 25 with an opening reception on Dec. 4 … More Info >>11:00 AM
Winter and the Blues
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Holiday Event: A Christmas Carol
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