HOPE — Over a half-million dollars worth of upgrades to improve accessibility, visibility and aesthetics in the Hope Town Square will soon become a reality.
Hope has been awarded a $428,360 federal grant administered through the Indiana Main Street program for a downtown streetscape project, according to an announcement from the office of Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch.
This is the largest grant received by the northeast Bartholomew County community through the Indiana Main Street organization since Hope was accepted into the program in May 2015, said Susan Thayer Fye, Main Street of Hope executive director.
Created through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, the Indiana Main Street program uses federal funds to encourage the revitalization and restoration of downtown areas.
In Hope, much of the money will be used to create a pathway through the town square, Fye said. Right now, it’s difficult for walkers, strollers and wheelchairs to make their way to different areas in the town square — especially after rain makes the ground muddy, she said.
In addition, funds from the grant will be used to replace 43 streetlights in and around the square. Repair parts for the exterior lighting fixtures already in place are no longer being made, since those lights are all more than 25 years old, Fye said.
The new streetlights, which will consist of heavy duty cast-metal posts with a globe surrounding the bulb, look exactly like the lighting fixtures used in Hope in the early part of the 1900s, she said.
The total estimated cost of the combined projects is $573,125, which includes $144,765 in local match funds, said Trena Carter, financial and grant consultant to the town.
Outside of these Main Street projects, additional upgrades will include the installation of high-quality metal roofing on downtown buildings, town council member Clyde Compton said. The roofing should be installed before the annual Hope Heritage Days festival that runs Sept. 27-29, Compton said.
Although the work may not be completed this year, the town council has also authorized the repaving of three streets surrounding the square — Harrison, Jackson and Washington streets, Compton said. In addition, the parking area on the west side of the town square adjacent to Main Street (State Road 9) will also be paved, he said.
While the awarding of the grant is being celebrated, the news does come with a bittersweet quality. The grant was approved just three weeks after the former president of Main Street of Hope, chiropractor Dr. Gregory Sweet, died July 22 of at the age of 59.
“Doc would be dancing down the hallway of his office if he were here,” Carter said about the awarding of the grant.
Other Main Street of Hope partners include the Custer-Nugent Foundation, The Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County and the Columbus Visitor’s Center. Key local businesses are Linear Landscape, Strand Associates Inc. and Administrative Resources Administration.
Besides recruiting several community partners, Main Street of Hope has also undergone an extensive three-year process involving hiring designers and seeking public input to become eligible for the funds, Fye said.
While the grant money may be administered by the state, it actually comes from federal Community Development Block Grant funds, Crouch said.
“These collaborations between federal, state and local partners are improving the lives of Hoosiers across the state and strengthening community pride,” Crouch said. “I applaud this round’s local leadership for their commitment to bettering their communities, as well as their tremendous use of partnerships to address a challenge.”
Besides Hope, the nearby communities of Prince’s Lakes and Westport were also among 17 rural Hoosier communities sharing more than $10.5 million in this latest round of grants.
These funds are earmarked to assist rural communities with various projects such as infrastructure improvement, downtown revitalization, public facilities and economic development.
