The McGregor Project is launching a community development fund—a dedicated investment fund that will distribute capital directly to local businesses seeking to optimize or expand their operations in the town and surrounding areas.

Jenifer Westphal said the fund will complement The McGregor Project’s aims to thoughtfully revitalize the historic town through a multi-phased approach over three to six years, with the current plan including 10 to 14 upgraded or restored buildings and areas—ranging from housing and restaurants to hotels and boutique shops. The philosophy is rooted in preserving the historical uniqueness of McGregor while modernizing aspects of the town.

“The heart of what The McGregor Project is all about is how to build the whole community, the whole area, up at the same time,” Westphal said.

Although a town of just over 700 residents, McGregor attracts around 24,000 annual tourists. Local businesses rely on the seasonal tourism cycles and sporadic outside funding, but face growth challenges—especially for big projects—due to limited resources and capital.

The McGregor Project Community Development Fund wants to help by bridging the gap between current realities and potential growth.

Westphal said the idea was brought up by Columbia Hospitality, the company handling restaurants for The McGregor Project, who has seen it work in other communities.

The Station restaurant currently under construction on Main Street isn’t being built to compete with other businesses, Westphal said. “We’re trying to add to it. But I realized too that, nationwide, small business owners have a very hard time keeping up their businesses, keeping ahead of capital things they need to have done. So they mentioned this idea of a fund for businesses to be able to fix their windows or put in a compressor or whatever they need. Then we can raise everybody’s boats at the same time.”

“This is all about supporting the whole community,” she added.

The goal of the community development fund is to generate compounding local economic value—deploying capital into job creation and self-sustaining economic ecosystems that keep revenue circulating within the community. The fund will be open to a broad range of local and regional operators, including but not limited to hospitality, retail, food and beverage, educational services, nature and recreation, entertainment and the arts.

The fund will support:

• Capital upgrades, including renovations, equipment, technology, accessibility and functional improvements that allow the business to serve more people and run more efficiently.
• Operational optimization like efficiency investments, staffing for scale and inventory systems.
• Experience enhancement, such as beautification and public space/real estate development aligned with McGregor’s aesthetic and values.
• Preservation and visibility, including development of public service projects aimed at increasing tourism for the town.

Those who are interested in participating can submit a proposal through a template on The McGregor Project website, outlining background on the business, proposed usage of the funds and the impact to McGregor and/or surrounding communities.

Westphal said The McGregor Project Community Development Fund will augment the current work of the non-profit Alexander McGregor Endowment (AME), as well as the city of McGregor’s business enhancement grants.

“If there’s something that comes along that needs a little extra help, then TMP Community Development Fund can help with that,” she shared. “Making sure that organizations in McGregor not only survive, but thrive, is a key component as to why this came about.”

The initial recipients of The McGregor Project Community Development Fund are Mar-Mac Human Powered Trails, the McGregor-Marquette Chamber of Commerce and McGregor Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1.

The groups impact a wide range of people in both Marquette and McGregor, which Westphal said was an important component this first round.

“Both towns need to be lifted up. It can’t just be us lifting up McGregor and then, well, Marquette’s gonna have to deal, right? It’s important for Marquette and McGregor to coordinate on all this,” she said.

Westphal feels fortunate she and her husband Jeff can help the communities in this way.

“To me, and to my husband, we both feel strongly that this is a project where we can have a lot of impact,” she said.

Learn more at www.themcgregorproject.com.