Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette
Todd Gast talks to the Hancock Downtown Development Authority during his interview for the position Monday. The city hired Gast for the position, previously held by the late Deb Mann.

HANCOCK — Hancock has a new downtown development coordinator.

The city hired Todd Gast for the role following a Downtown Development Authority meeting Monday. The position had been vacant since Deb Mann’s death in August.

Gast is currently marketing and outreach manager at the Keweenaw Co-Op, where he has been since 2017. A Copper Country native, he worked in Baltimore, Washington and New York before returning to the area.

“Anytime you’re bringing anybody with that type of experience from outside, they see a lot of things,” said DDA member Steve Patchin.

DDA members voted Monday to give city manager Mary Babcock the power to make the final decision. They said it was a tough decision between Gast and the other candidate, Cathy Lucchesi-Gedda, Hancock branch director for Superior National Bank. Babcock and DDA members were impressed with Gast’s marketing acumen; DDA members also pointed to the greater amount of time he would have available.

During his interview with the DDA Monday, Gast said he is leaving the co-op to focus on his own business, which includes clients on both coasts. He is also looking to expand locally, he said.

Gast sees Hancock’s beauty as its greatest asset. By improving internet connectivity, the city could be able to add more multi-use buildings where people can rent spaces for remote work.

“Post-pandemic, people are really being afforded the ability to live where they want to live, and have the ability to still work,” he said.

Gast said he had helped grow the co-op’s social media following from about 1,000 followers in 2017 to 4,500 today. He also creates an e-mail newsletter for the co-op, which has grown from 700 to 2,000 subscribers.

“My posts are friendly, they’re happy, spreading good news,” he said. “I think that’s kind of contagious in the social media landscape.”

On recruiting and generating new businesses, Gast said it would start with getting the word out. He referenced the work the co-op had done for its investment campaign for its new location on Quincy Street. As an example — later singled out by multiple DDA members during their deliberation — he showed the “growth carrots” that were circulated to demonstrate the co-op’s progress towards its campaign goals.

The drive for donations also included mock-ups of what the new space would look like and testimonials from members about what the co-op means to them.

“I would probably do the same thing with getting people out there to say what’s great about Hancock, why do you love either living here, working here, having your business here … it’s one of the best ways of telling your story,” he said.