Emporia Main Street has gained a significant amount of funding through a Kansas Department of Commerce program.
Main Street was approved for $100,000 in funds through the Historic Economic Asset Lifeline, or HEAL, grant program. Main Street Director Casey Woods says this round of funding will help with the Gazette Collective mixed-use development at 517 Merchant after a separate HEAL grant for the Radius production brewing facility. HEAL-funded projects help to refurbish underused or decaying downtown buildings where rehab costs go beyond what traditional financing can handle.
Once HEAL funds are distributed, those projects must be completed within two years.
Meanwhile, Main Street’s Public Improvement Auction goes from 5-9:30 pm Saturday at the Emporia Granada Theatre. The dinner and silent auction begins at 6 pm, with the dessert auction and live auction both starting at 6:45 pm. Dueling Pianos, the featured entertainment, begins at 7:30 pm.
The dinner portion of the event is sold out, but tickets are available for the live auction.
