(The Center Square) – Juli Crenshaw was overwhelmed when she received a phone call announcing a $1.1 million grant for a project to revitalize an historic building in her town.
“I was so surprised and so very thankful, the tears started flowing,” Crenshaw, president of Mound City Downtown Restoration and Revitalization, Inc., in northern Missouri, said in an interview with The Center Square. “We’ve been working so hard to make this a flagship for moving forward with change and to show people we can change.”
The cornerstone of the project will be restoring the Bank of Mound City, which will be the nonprofit organization’s home. Funds also will be used to plan and create a scenic byway from Interstate 29. The Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, consisting of 7,000 acres along the Missouri River and known for migratory bird hunting and other wildlife, is an economic driver for the town.
Mound City’s grant was announced by Missouri’s Department of Economic Development on Monday and was part of $3.7 million awarded to six projects as part of the Community Revitalization Grant Program. The funding is part of $350 billion in funds sent to state, territorial, local and tribal governments through the federal American Rescue Plan Act to support economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Missouri distributed $100 million in ARPA community revitalization grants. The northern region of Missouri didn’t exhaust its $10 million in ARPA funds during the first round of grants and a second round was launched in May. Mound City, with a population of less than a thousand, will use its grant of $1,075,596 to redevelop the town’s historic district and add a scenic byway.
The City of Maryville, with a population of 10,461 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, will receive a $767,827 grant for downtown revitalization and $331,000 for a visitor center. Adair County, with a population of 25,165, will receive $615,788 for a community facility. Kirksville Regional Economic Development, Inc., will get $500,000 for downtown revitalization and the Heartland Foundation in Buchanan County will get $484,796 for a discovery center.
“COVID set us back a long way and this grant will help us move forward,” Crenshaw said. “We’re a small community and people really watch out for each other. Trying to get anything off the ground, like redoing the bank, just wasn’t going to happen during COVID. But this bank tells a story and will be a great place for people to come downtown and visit. And then we will work on other buildings needing work and upgrading.”
Mound City Downtown Restoration and Revitalization, Inc., is registered as a charitable organization with the Internal Revenue Service. It received its nonprofit status last year and had less than $50,000 in gross receipts, according to the IRS.
“Projects funded through these grant awards will result in improved lives, stronger communities, and brighter futures in our state,” Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said in a statement announcing the grants.
