A downtown Emporia project has qualified for a Community Development Block Grant.
The Kansas Department of Commerce is officially giving $300,000 to Lyon County, according to its news release, but the six-figure grant will bolster renovations at 713 Commercial. This will now house three organizations: Fork & Spoon, Emporia First Friday and GoodMuscle Gym.
Emporia isn’t the only community to benefit from this round of block grant funding. Burlingame gets $300,000 for the proposed use of Coach’s Hometown Gym at 105 East Santa Fe, helping to bolster existing facilities and build foot traffic. Overbrook gets over $158,000 to develop a corner lot along US Highway 56 into a walk-up ice cream shop.
The state’s CDBG Commercial Rehabilitation program helps private landowners renovate what the Department of Commerce calls blighted buildings in downtown areas, thus enhancing economic growth and stability.
