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BY NIC MILLER
STAR STAFF
nic.miller@elizabethton.com

The City of Elizabethton was awarded the Downtown Improvement Grant by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to improve Historic Downtown Elizabethton.

The City of Elizabethton was one of 14 communities across the state that received this grant which totaled $150,000 and supports improvements to building facades and outdoor public spaces.

“This is the first time that the city has applied for this grant, and it is exciting because of the competitiveness that comes with having it awarded to us,” said Courtney Bean, Main Street director. “There were only 14 communities awarded this year, and we are honored to be one of those.”

Bean said the grant application process involved input from property owners. “Because this grant focuses on facades and improving our downtown district, we reached out to our downtown property owners to hear what improvements they would like to make,” she said. “We did this and also looked at the downtown district to see what improvements we could make, which was the start to the process of seeing what we were interested in applying for.”

The grant builds on the momentum in place in Elizabethton. “It is really exciting especially with the momentum and growth that is happening with downtown Elizabethton right now. In the two years that we have had Main Street, we have seen a lot of change and progress, and this grant allows us to continue that on a larger scale,” Bean said.

Applications will be opened for property owners once the grant funds and contracts are in place, Bean said.

“These leaders are focusing strategic investments on revitalizing their downtown districts, which are the heart of so many of our communities. This will encourage additional economic development and tourism opportunities for years to come,” said Gov. Bill Lee.

“The Downtown Improvement Grant has been awarded to Elizabethton, but with this being a state grant, a contract may not be received until later this year,” Bean continued. “Once we do receive a contract, we will open up applications for our property owners to apply and utilize these funds.”