CASSOPOLIS — Though questions regarding the potential renovation and reuse of the historic 1899 county courthouse remain at large, Cass County leaders will soon be looking for ideas to enhance the area surrounding the vintage structure.

Beginning next month, county leaders and residents will be invited to share their ideas about the future of Cassopolis’ downtown business corridor, during a series of brainstorming sessions hosted by the Cass County government, economic development corporation, Village of Cassopolis and Michigan State University. The first of three planning sessions is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 31, at the Midwest Energy & Communications building, 60590 Decatur Road, Cassopolis.

Officials are looking to invite Cass County business leaders; township, city and village government officials; and private citizens to participate in the brainstorming sessions, which help determine possible ideas to enhance Cassopolis’ historic downtown district, which County Administrator Karen Folks describes as the “heart of Cass County.”

“The [Midwest building’s] meeting room has space for at least 150 people,” Folks said. “We are aiming to fill that space.”

The three local entities — the county, the EDC and Cassopolis village government — formed a partnership with MSU’s School of Planning, Design and Construction several weeks ago, through the university’s Sustainable Built Environment Initiative. The program, which the university formed in 2013, is designed to help Michigan municipalities address physical planning, design and land use concerns. The SBEI program has worked with several communities in Michigan, including Allegan, Marquette and Cadillac.

Folks reached out to MSU for help with developing a plan for downtown Cassopolis after members of the university’s construction school toured the vintage courthouse in September. With the vintage courthouse and library on the north end of the village, unique storefronts lining Broadway Street and the Pioneer Log Cabin Museum on south end on the coast of the picturesque Stone Lake, downtown Cassopolis is a valuable asset to Cass County, rich with history and potential, Folks said.

“We have a number of interesting elements here,” she said. “The idea is for us, as a community, to come together to create a shared, comprehensive vision of what a reimagined, vibrant downtown Cassopolis would look like.”

The visioning process — which is currently helmed by Folks, EDC Director Barkley Garrett and Cassopolis Village Manager Emilie Sarratore — will be broken into three sessions: the first on Jan. 31, the second planned for some time in April and the third sometime in early summer, Folks said.

With the assistance of MSU SBEI coordinators, leaders will take the information gathered from meeting participants and use the feedback to create a series of images and recommendations, which will help guide future economic development projects in the downtown Cassopolis area, Folks said.

The community input will form one piece of the county’s and village’s plans to enhance the community surrounding the Cass government’s seat of power, Folks said. Village leaders are currently in the process of developing a master plan for Cassopolis, while county leaders have recently contracted services with consulting firm Management Partners Inc. to devise a strategic plan for the entire county, the administrator said.

The three projects are part of a greater movement to enhance economic growth and promote better quality of life in the area, which Folks said is encompassed in a new slogan leaders recently devised: “Imagine Cass, Embrace the Vision.”

Folks said the committee in charge of the SBEI visioning process will soon be sending out “save the date” cards to individuals in the community to participate in the process. People interested in attending the meetings are asked to check the county website, casscountymi.org, in the coming weeks for more information.