SEYMOUR – Seymour Main Street received a $20,000 Taking Care of Main Street grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
The grant provides organizational support for activities and administrative functions necessary to meet the new accreditation standards for state and nationally-accredited Indiana Main Street programs.
The grant program supports organizations as they transition to the new accreditation standards implemented by Main Street America. The grant provides financial assistance, to provide direct assistance for growing economic development initiatives in their community, including business retention and recruitment, organizational growth, transformation strategy implementation and more.
Eligible expenses include salaries, administrative or consultant fees, space or equipment rental or staff development and training.
Officials plan with the help of Veridus Group of Indianapolis to use the grant funds to recruit new businesses in the city’s lowest-performance areas and support businesses retention efforts. The plan details ways to improve the design and development of the downtown through greenspaces, placemaking, multimodal accommodations, cohesive site furnishings and a gateway to the downtown.
In addition to visual enhancements, the plan identifies procedural improvements to address neglected buildings and encourage revitalization efforts in the downtown area.
