PRESS RELEASE: St. Charles Receives Downtown Revitalization Grant from Missouri Main Street
Our very own Downtown Main Street has received a Revitalization Grant from Main Street America! We are excited to see the renewed growth on our Street, which will help all of the small businesses at and around OPO succeed!
Story By: Missouri Main Street Connection
Posted On: March 13, 2022
Original Article: www.momainstreet.org/press-release
The St. Charles Main Street Foundation has been selected in a competitive application process to participate in a cost-sharing People Energizing Places (PEP) Grant that provides training, mentoring, and technical services to revitalization programs in Missouri’s historic commercial districts. The grant is provided by Missouri Main Street Connection, Inc. (MMSC).
MMSC staff will work with the St. Charles Main Street Foundation volunteers to schedule a series of customized trainings equipping them to implement local revitalization goals. The goal of the grant is to help St. Charles develop a Main Street structured organization to enhance the revitalization efforts to support the commercial and residential environment for the next 50 years. This program will identify smart growth strategies and create a detailed plan of action building upon past preservation efforts and hard work. An assessment of the current conditions will begin to identify needs, denote training opportunities on Main Street principles, and help to develop a plan of action involving partners and funding options.
MMSC State Director, Gayla Roten believes, “The PEP grant is an opportunity for St. Charles to build upon the historic downtown infrastructure already in place with engagement from the various downtown stakeholders to use the Main Street principles to enhance upon downtown St. Charles’ previous work.”
With support from MMSC, the St. Charles Main Street Foundation anticipates:
Establishing a structure for stakeholder involvement in the downtown
revitalization process.
Developing their downtown revitalization efforts further through the training
and guidance provided by Missouri Main Street Connection.
Determine goals and outcomes for a path of success for downtown and its
stakeholders.
The PEP Grant is a 75/25 match, requiring the community to contribute 25% of the cash value of the services. The total value of the grant in training and mentoring services is $38,400. MMSC currently provides revitalization training and mentoring to over 180 communities in Missouri, plus Main Street accreditation services.
