Downtown Hanover Asset & Experience Mapping Questionnaire
Place Matters - Conversations on the Downtown Hanover Plan
Introduction: Why a Downtown Plan?
Hanover’s downtown is the heart of our community—a place where people gather, businesses thrive, and our town’s character shines. Over time, we’ve heard from residents, business owners, and community partners that downtown needs attention to stay vibrant and welcoming. Through previous studies and community feedback, it became clear that a comprehensive plan was needed to guide improvements, support local businesses, and create spaces where everyone feels connected.
The Downtown Plan is our opportunity to shape the future together. It will help us strengthen the core of Hanover, enhance public spaces, and ensure downtown remains a destination for residents and visitors alike. By planning thoughtfully today, we can create a downtown that reflects our shared vision and values for years to come.
Project Overview
The Town of Hanover in partnership with the DIA is launching an initiative focused on the downtown. The project is to help drive success in the downtown through revitalisation that is focused on a variety of improvements with particular attention toward the tourism industry while preserving the community’s historic character.
The effort will build on the community’s existing assets and will be guided by the Town’s Official Plan and recent Strategic Plan. The goal is to create a place that attracts new businesses, supports local residents and offers an inviting, authentic experience for visitors.
Project Phases
The work will be carried out in three clear phases. Phase 1 (Research, Analyse and Collaborate) where background information will be gathered and an understanding of local assets will be developed. The team will be working with existing community members referred to as ‘Community Connectors’ to facilitate informal discussions with different members of the community regarding the Downtown. This phase also includes working with residents and businesses and hosting an “Idea Jamming” workshop to define a shared vision in early 2026. The entire downtown plan is slated for completion around May 2026.
In Phase 2 the team will work with the Town to analyze the information based on the community’s vision and proven practices to begin developing a path forward, a type of “transformation strategy”. This strategy will be organized in four pillars, Design, Promotion, Economic Vitality and Organization. There will be feedback cycles and opportunities for dialog included in this phase to inform the community and receive ideas and suggested improvements.
The refinement and finalization of the strategy will be completed in Phase 3. At this time a detailed action plan and final recommendations for Town approval will be crafted.
Getting Involved
Hanover residents, business owners and community groups will have many opportunities to provide their ideas and insights to help shape the plan. These varied communication and discussion formats are designed to welcome everyone, so that a broad range of community citizens can be heard throughout the process.
- The Idea Jam occurred on January 28, 2026
- Community Connectors have completed outreach and shared their finding at the end of February - they provided thoughtful, consistent insights and valued being involved.
- Deadline to complete the Downtown Hanover Asset & Experience Mapping Questionnaire has been extended to March 27th at 11am.
- Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming draft transformational strategies public open house that will be presented for feedback based on what we have heard.