We are a PreservINg Main Street Pilot Community!
We did it! Kendallville won a $2 million grant as one of two communities named a PreservINg Main Street Pilot Community!
The announcement came from Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch on September 10, 2021. Kendallville and Brookville, IN were both selected to receive $2 million that can be used for making transformative facade upgrades and establish historic preservation guidelines. The announcement of two winners was unexpected, but exciting!
The next step has already taken place. Several leaders on the Kendallville project traveled to Indianapolis on September 21 to learn more about the grant and begin planning.
According to Experience the Heart of Kendallville (EHK) President Kristen Johnson, eyes are focused on a makeover of "the Strand block". The properties along the east side of Main Street between Rush and Williams Streets are targeted to serve as a "demonstration block", enabling transformations to begin and serve to share best practices and provide many learning opportunities that will enable the process to be replicated.
The EHK board of directors and community partners are about to dive deeper into a variety of capacity-building steps, including the development of commissions, standards, and more. EHK will provide updates here, and through other means of communication, as the project moves forward. The community is also required to raise $200,000 as "matching funds" in order to receive the grant funding.