ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN

The Heart of Historic Downtown Monroe

Our Vision

The success of Downtown Monroe will come from a lively mix of quality retail shops, professional services, restaurants, entertainment, and upper-floor residential space, providing a variety of opportunities for a distinct cultural experience. Downtown will retain a safe, friendly, small-town pedestrian-oriented atmosphere for residents and visitors while at the same time engaging a positive spirit enhanced by its distinct sense of place built upon its rich agricultural history and architecturally significant buildings. The mix of retail and service businesses and continued expansion will strengthen Monroe’s sense of community and quality of life through the cooperative marketing and promotion efforts of our Downtown department.

Our Mission

To recognize, revitalize, preserve, and promote the historic, cultural, social, and economic significance of Monroe’s Downtown.

About the Downtown Master Plan

The Monroe Downtown Master Plan reflects a vision for a place where people live, work, and play and where restaurants, entertainment venues, and shops continually attract residents and visitors. To revitalize the Downtown of Monroe and realize the vision expressed in the Downtown Master Plan, recommendations were set forth in six key areas: land use, transportation, open space, urban design, character and cultural resources, and market position/economic development. Consistent with the vision, the plan also offers suggestion for physical improvements to Downtown. It encourages the correct mixture of downtown retail; seeks to bolster residential areas adjacent to the core; respects the character of downtown, especially the architecture of the built environment; and suggests improvements to the transportation network. Furthermore, the Downtown Master Plan determines catalyst sites where redevelopment opportunities exist.

“Today the goal is to return Monroe to its position as the focal point of commerce, arts and employment in Union County…”