Urban Renewal considers multi-year projects
“The La Junta Urban Renewal Board is expanding the scope of the storefront improvement project, allowing a combination of grant and loan up to $15,000 in a three-year period. This means that no more than $7500 grant and $7500 zero percent loan may be obtained for a project, spread over a three year period in increments of $5,000. This will enable some downtown store owners to do some needed repairs on buildings which will make their stores and La Junta’s downtown more attractive.
City Manager Rick Klein once more presented a couple of programs which may help with the revitalization of downtown La Junta. One is a state project, the Colorado Main Street Program. It has four parts. First is Organization: “Establishing consensus and cooperation by building effective partnerships among all downtown stakeholders and harnessing the energy of community volunteers by directing them to a common goal.” Second is Promotion: “Creating and marketing a positive image based on the unique attributes of the downtown to improve consumer and investor confidence in the district.”
Third is Design: “Enhancing the unique visual quality of downtown by addressing all design elements, including historic buildings and pedestrian-oriented design, to create an appealing environment.” Fourth is Restructuring: “Strengthening downtown’s existing economic assets, fulfilling its broadest market potential and diversifying the economic base.” The program is administered by the Department of Local Affairs and has been growing in depth and scope. “It was probably lucky that we didn’t get in the first time we tried,” said Klein.”
McFarren, Bette. La Junta Tribune 11 July 2014.