Cornerstone Alliance is nearing completion of its free public WiFi project in Benton Harbor.
The group received a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2022 to roll out free WiFi in high-traffic areas, with four of the five selected sites now online and live.
Jillian Nadolski, physical development manager for Cornerstone Alliance, said COVID-19 proved there was a real need for community-wide internet access, so Cornerstone decided to give it a try.
““We started off by kind of beta testing it in the Benton Harbor Arts District, installing public Wi-Fi to provide a free amenity for the downtown community,” Nadolski said.
The Arts District WiFi was such a success that Cornerstone began exploring further options, and once funding was secured, Nadolski said, they worked with Comcast and Kalamazoo’s New Mind Group to handle the technical aspects of the project.
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“The city of Benton Harbor is home to Union Park, June Woods Park (formerly Broadway Park), and Harbor City.ty Flats, a housing development corporation, and Buss Apartments through the Benton Harbor Housing Commission, and the Boys & Girls Club Youth Campus.”
Four of the five are already up and running, with the last, Buss Apartments, due to be up and running next week.
Nadolski said when people try to log in to the free WiFi, they are greeted with a splash page that explains the WiFi project and advises security considerations, such as not logging into sensitive accounts because it’s a public connection. She said she’s heard from people who are already using the WiFi since it was rolled out.
A ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of the WiFi project will take place at Union Park on Tuesday at 3pm and will include local officials in attendance.
