Work continues on Calico Rock historic renovation; additional funding awarded

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Work continues on Calico Rock’s Main Street renovation projects with word of additional funding from the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.

In a Facebook post, the Calico Rock Museum and Visitors Center says the latest update to the Main Street renovation is the painting of the historic Bluff City Bank Building.

The original bank was constructed in 1896 and is the oldest building in Calico Rock. Over the years, it has served as a bank, post office, city hall, visitor center and museum.

It now houses Peppersauce on Main, which is part of The Marketplace next door. The historic colors are wrought iron and peacock plume. The wrought iron shows off the original ironwork on the building.

Earlier this summer, Calico Rock became one of the three newest communities across the state to be added to the Arkansas Downtown Network program. The program is an effort to assist these communities to both revitalize their built environment and build the capacity to become a certified Main Street community.

In the recent funding news, Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, announced communities participating in the Main Street Arkansas program, a part of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, will receive increases through their yearly Downtown Revitalization Grants. The total grant awards for FY2021 will be $559,000, an increase of $249,500 over FY 2020, and will be funded by the Real Estate Transfer Tax.

As a benefit of participation in the Main Street Arkansas or Downtown Network programs, each community receives Downtown Revitalization Grants. The grant amounts, ranging from $3,000 to $25,000, vary based on a community’s level of participation and on the number of businesses in each commercial district.

Calico Rock is among 18 DownTown Partnership communities identified to receive grants of $3,000 each. Calico Rock is the only community in North Central Arkansas.

The need for the funding was expressed by the communities in a survey conducted by the national Main Street program, a network of over 1,600 commercial districts comprising approximately 300,000 small businesses. Over 200 small businesses from Arkansas Main Street and Downtown Network programs responded to the survey.

Key findings of the survey indicated:

-Millions of small businesses will be at great risk of closing permanently if the COVID-19 crisis continues for several months. Of the nation’s approximately 30 million small businesses, nearly 7.5 million small businesses may be at risk of closing permanently over the coming five months, and 3.5 million are at risk of closure in the next two months.

-COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on small businesses’ revenue, and millions of Americans employed by our nation’s smallest businesses are at risk of unemployment as a result. Approximately 35.7 million Americans employed by small businesses appear to be at risk of unemployment.

“We conducted a follow-up survey with our Main Street Arkansas communities,” says Scott Kaufman, director of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. “They told us that the most beneficial assistance to them would be rent relief, utility bill relief and payroll assistance. I am very pleased that we can offer this additional assistance in such trying times.”

“Our Main Street businesses are the anchors of our communities. Main Street owners know their customers and see them every day,” says Secretary Hurst. “I’m pleased we were able to increase funding to Main Street and Downtown Networks. Through these grants and the patronage of their friends and neighbors, these businesses will continue to drive local economies and contribute to Arkansas’ bright future.”

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