Revitalization grants leverage $47M for improvements in 6 downtowns

20 Feb 2024

News, Business, Economic Development, Community

LITTLE FALLS — Through a yearlong partnership with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Initiative Foundation awarded $4.3 million in grants to six communities in central Minnesota.

The grants leveraged an estimated $47 million in hometown improvements.

The Initiative Foundation worked with Brainerd, Cold Spring, Little Falls, Long Prairie, Pine River and St. Cloud to identify corridors that experienced COVID-19 impacts — from travel and tourism businesses to site improvement to upgrading commercial property vacancies.

The Minnesota Main Street Revitalization Program provided for 30% matching grants and guaranteed loans for economic and redevelopment needs that surfaced following the March 2020 onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses were required to secure the remaining 70% of funding. Brainerd, Cold Spring, Little Falls, Long Prairie, Pine River and St. Cloud met the deadline to apply for this special funding from DEED.

Read the full article from the Brainerd Dispatch here.

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