Downtown Glenwood property owners have until July 3 to apply for mini-grants being offered by Main Street Arkansas which would cover the cost of improving the appearance of storefronts while maintaining the historical integrity of buildings. Grants will likely range from $500 to $2,500 depending on the type of work to be done and the overall number of applicants from the city.

Kayla Hartsfield, president of the nonprofit Glenwood Downtown Network, says at least six businesses within the designated area have expressed interest in applying. In the coming weeks, she said she will invite Mark Miller, grants administrator for the state program, to a meeting with businesses to discuss requirements to qualify. In the meantime, Miller is encouraging businesses to get estimates of the work they would like to fund.

“I have found that it works best about halfway through that process when they’re working on their applications for me to make a visit with the local contact and meet one-on-one with those property owners. That way we can see if the things that they’re wanting to do actually follow with our mission,” Miller said.

Main Street Arkansas is part of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, so it follows principles that support the preservation and economic revitalization of historic commercial districts like Glenwood’s downtown. He said discussing proposals at this stage, “gives me the opportunity to — before the grant [application period] ends — if they’re trying to do something that we would not be able to pay for, we can take an action and give them advice. If they were to do this instead of this, then they would still qualify to be able to get the grant from us.”

Requiring matching grants is ideal, he said, so that businesses “have some skin in the game.” They also need to fully understand the reimbursement process.

First year with Main Street Arkansas
This is the first time businesses from the city have been able to apply for such a grant since the Glenwood Downtown Network was accepted into the Main Street Arkansas program last summer. Hartsfield says she began working to create the local nonprofit specifically so it would qualify for the state program.

“I knew what it would mean for our downtown, for our community and for our local economy,” Hartsfield said. “It is just enhancing everything else that we’re already doing. But for me, the biggest thing with Main Street Arkansas has been the connections that I’ve been able to make and the networking. These are directors of other programs and some of them have been doing this for a very, very long time and have been a huge help to me and a wealth of information.”

Helping her lead the organization is Vice-President Kara Oosterhous, who previously worked for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Alliance, which is today known as Preserve Arkansas. The nonprofit is dedicated to protecting, restoring and rehabilitating historic structures.

To qualify for the state program, a city or town must have a historic commercial core and be able to show support from all sectors of the community, including merchants, property owners and municipal officials, said Main Street Arkansas Director Greg Phillips. An application period to join is typically held every two years.

Currently, 42 community organizations are part of Main Street Arkansas, which is under the state Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. Among those applying during the most recent round, Miller said Glenwood was the first to invite him to give a presentation. The meeting “had a really good turnout,” he said, and “their enthusiasm was just over the top. We could really tell that they wanted to be part of the program.”

Efforts focus on helping communities with design, economic restructuring, organization and promotion. One year into the Glenwood Downtown Network being accepted into the program, Miller said the group has exceeded expectations.

“There’s been some new businesses that have started, there’s some building renovations. Typically those things take two, three, four years,” Miller said during an interview. “They already had an organization in place. They had an interested group of local citizens and so they really had a leg up when they applied, whereas a lot of times when we receive applications, there’s really not even a formal organization in the community.”

Phillips agreed, adding that members of the group “were really like a year or more ahead of what we’re used to dealing with, and just immediately upon acceptance, they hit the ground running.”

Organizations are required to have a minimum of $5,000 in verbal commitments from their communities when they apply to Main Street Arkansas. Hartsfield says most cities are able to cite funding from advertising and promotions commissions and industries making large donations.

“We don’t have that option, so, our program is funded by our community partners who are our local businesses and organizations, our local businesses, really. You know, John Plyler [Home Center], Southern Bancorp and Farmers Bank, sort of different, small local businesses that believe in what we’re doing,”Hartsfield said.

She and Oosterhous said they’re looking for investors for the coming fiscal year and are planning a signature fundraising event with the goal of benefiting the downtown area. There are still empty storefronts and they hope to continue filling them with new or related businesses.