Main Street America has selected three Wyoming communities to participate in the Main Street Façade Improvement Grant Program: Laramie, Rock Springs and Thermopolis. Wyoming Main Street — a program of the Wyoming Business Council — will work with Laramie Main Street Alliance, Downtown Rock Springs and Main Street Thermopolis to award grants of up to $25,000 for improving downtown façades in those communities.
Main Street America is an organization committed to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. The façade grants are made possible by a $746,900 grant from the Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program (HSRP) as administered by the National Park Service (NPS), Department of Interior. The grant money will be split between Wyoming and three other states selected to participate.
“Wyoming Main Street is excited for this opportunity for the Main Street programs in Laramie, Rock Springs and Thermopolis,” said Wyoming Main Street Manager Linda Klinck. “The Main Street approach is rooted in historic preservation with a focus on the downtown district because it can be a destination, but the ultimate goal is the economic health of the whole community. This fund will reinforce the historic preservation work that has already been done in these communities.”
The Main Street Façade Improvement Grant Program will demonstrate the power of coordinated, small-scale facade improvements on local economies, reinvigorate the image of these downtowns and aim to attract private investment.
“We are thrilled to launch this program with our partners in Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina and Wyoming,” said Main Street America’s Vice President of Revitalization Programs, Matthew Wagner. “We know that façade improvements both preserve historic resources and spur economic growth in communities, and we are eager to start disbursing these funds to produce these changes in rural Main street communities.”
Grantee applications for the Main Street Façade Improvement Grant Program are available now. Contact your local Main Street program in the selected communities to learn more.
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL MAIN STREET CENTER
The National Main Street Center has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years. Today, its network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. The organization is a non-profit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit mainstreet.org.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov.
ABOUT WYOMING MAIN STREET
Wyoming Main Street focuses on community growth for historic downtowns. The program provides technical assistance and services to organizations throughout Wyoming whose focus is downtown revitalization.