One of the funding mechanisms is now in place for a planned downtown revitalization project in Emporia.
Tuesday morning, local leadership and representatives from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development convened at the Citizen’s National Lofts building at 529 Commercial Street for a check presentation of $500,000. The dollars come from HUD’s Hope VI grant which the city applied to back in early October.
The funding will be put towards a $2.8 million revitalization project at 502 Commercial Street being led by developer Ben Moore, who has been involved in previous downtown revitalization efforts from an architectural standpoint. Moore says the decision to take on this project himself was inspired by the work he has done in the past.
Plans are to construct seven residential units in the basement and second floor of the property with the ground floor set to be used as a commercial space.
Emporia is one of three communities out of 11 applicants to receive funding through the Hope VI grant according to HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Housing Investments Marianne Nazzaro. When asked what made Emporia an ideal location for such an investment, Nazzaro says the community’s previous investment in itself helped to set it apart from other applicants.
Emporia Main Street, along with Moore, originally proposed the project and the idea to seek out the Hope VI grant. During Tuesday’s presentation, city leadership gave special thanks to the efforts of Main Street Director Casey Woods who says anytime they can find “additional resources for people that are investing in the downtown area, that is a great feeling.”
Emporia Director of Special Projects Tayler Wash assisted in organizing and submitting the grant alongside Woods and Moore. As a former Emporia State student and now a member of the city administration, Wash says being involved in such an “ambitious” effort is an amazing opportunity.
As previously mentioned, the Hope VI grant is just one of several funding avenues the city and Main Street are pursuing to assist with the project. Other avenues include but are not limited to upper-story Rural Housing Incentive District funds and historic tax credits through both the state and federal governments.
A timeline for the project itself is currently pending as the funding needs to be secured before “hammers can be swung” according to Woods. The project will not only update the building at 502, but plans are also to maintain much of the original architecture thus making way for the future while honoring the past of the space.
