The City of North Platte in partnership with the North Platte Area Chamber and Development Corp. have applied for a Community Development Block Grant for the activity of planning. The following is a brief summary of the grant and the scope of the project.
 
Total Grant Requested: $30,000
Matching Fund Requirements:
The grant requires a 25% match, which is $7,500 – $4,000 has been granted by the Mid-Nebraska Community Foundation, $500 has committed from the Downtown Association and the remainder will be cash and inkind contributions from the North Platte Chamber and Development Corp.
Purpose:
The project planned is aimed at revitalizing the downtown district through a façade design project. With the help of a Community Development Block Grant, it will enable us to work with a design professional to collaborate one-on-one with each building owner in a five block defined area in the heart of downtown North Platte. Each building owner will receive a conceptual facade design to give owners an idea for façade improvements that will set the stage for downtown revitalization one building at a time.
Additionally, the goal is to create a local façade grant program to help offset the cost of the façade improvements.
Each of these goals support the North Platte Comprehensive Plan in terms of downtown revitalization.
Initial Project Location:
The general project area includes the buildings from Jeffers to Chestnut and from 4^th St. to 6^th Street, there are a couple of other adjacent buildings that will also be included. This is just the initial area that we will focus on for the conceptual drawings. The idea is to create a manageable project and we feel that by starting in a concentrated area, we have the best chance of early success. The façade grant program will have much larger boundaries.
Different than previous plans:
There have been downtown plans conducted in the past. Those plans were large-scale plans that focused on the downtown as a whole rather than building by building. That strategy placed a large financial burden on public funds to make the overall improvements, thus the plans were never implemented. This plan places the initiative in the hands of the building and business owners rather than placing the entire revitalization effort on the shoulders of public funding. The conceptual drawing along with the incentive of the façade grant, will increase the likelihood of success of this project as well as the success of incremental revitalization of the downtown district.