Neosho obtains more funding toward DREAM

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August 10, 2007

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Fri Aug 10, 2007, 08:52 PM CDT

GBy Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho has 400,000 more reasons to be glad about its DREAM community designation.

A $400,000 Community Development block grant was presented Friday to Neosho city officials to fund the acquisition and demolition of up to five properties to increase parking for the downtown areas. Gov. Matt Blunt made the presentation.

City Manager Jan Blase said now that the city officially has the grant, negotiations on the properties will begin immediately. He said the city hopes to have the demolition and parking areas finished in the next year.

Blase said the grant will also allow the city to buy and demolish some structures that are beyond repair and an eyesore to the downtown.

Friday’s presentation makes the total amount of Neosho’s DREAM (Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri) funding $2.7 million. Blunt said the first round of 10 DREAM cities has already received $30 million in total assistance in the program’s first year.

Blunt made the presentation in the Sterling Building, also known as the old Pick and Save, on the west corner of the square. The building is owned by Rudy Farber and Larry Neff, and is being renovated as part of the DREAM initiative.

Crews recently removed the 1965 metal sheathing on the building’s exterior, revealing a mostly intact upper facade on two-thirds of the building. The remaining third had to be almost entirely reconstructed. Neff said the building eventually will house five store fronts on the lower floor, and 12 apartment spaces in the upper stories, five of which will be condos.

Boarded-up windows and building supplies show the work being done on the old Newton Hotel and Haas Building. Terra Vest Development Corp., of Columbia, Mo., is developing the property with a variety of federal and state tax credits. The building will house at least one retail business on the bottom floor, and 20 apartments for senior citizens on the upper floors.

The exterior of the building will be cleaned and tuck-pointed, and new “historically compliant” doors and windows will be installed. Construction should take about a year to complete.

Local reaction

Matt and Kayla Hayes, owners of Timeless Images photography studio on the Neosho square, couldn’t be happier about the downtown renovations, even if it’s not to their building. What’s good for the square is good for them.

“The Pick and Save was definitely sad,” Kayla said. “The square really needs a lot of help. It’s dead most of the time.”

“Yeah, eating next door, or going to the courthouse is why most people come to the square,” Matt said. “So, any business would love any improvement to the square. It’s worth our tax dollars.”

Joe Bevis, who owns Books N Java on the Neosho square along with his wife, Kelly, said anything that attracts more business to the square is good for the whole town. He reminisced about his childhood when the square was the main hub of the town, and said getting more restaurants and retailers on the square can bring some of that history back.

“We need more activity on the square,” he said.

Besides the major renovations to some of the square’s large buildings, Bevis says small-business renovation like Sam’s Cellar, owned by Suzi Howsmon, can help bring that activity back to Neosho’s square.

Blase also emphasized some of the small-business renovations, and said Howsmon is also working on another building downtown, and a local family is renovating a small building on Spring Street. To motivate small-business owners, Blase said the city recently organized a number of banks to create a capital-development corporation that can provide gap financing for startup businesses. He said there are also some facade renovation funds still available.

Other projects

Just last month, Neosho was awarded a $300,000 Missouri Department of Transportation transportation-enhancement grant. The money will be used toward the first phase of the master plan for the downtown trail project estimated to cost $384,500. The city of Neosho will pay for the 21.72 percent of the project not covered by the grant.

This phase will include sidewalks and lighting on Spring Street from Washington Street to the Kansas City Southern Railroad, and an asphalt pedestrian trail along Spring Street from the Kansas City Railroad to Morse Park, and complete the pedestrian route from Big Spring Park to Morse Park.

The trails will connect the Lampo Community Center, Morse Park and Rainbow Park to Neosho’s historic downtown, eventually reaching the visitors center at Neosho’s National Fish Hatchery.

Earlier this year, Neosho was also awarded a $400,000 Community Development block grant to add pavement, lighting and sidewalks from Big Spring Park to Jefferson Street. The grant also will fund the paving and beautification of seven municipal parking lots in the DREAM area.

To go along with the DREAM projects, Blase said Neosho’s auditorium is also undergoing a $3 million renovation he hopes can become the central point for downtown activities.

“Hopefully by next year, we will be meeting in an air-conditioned auditorium second to none,” Blase said, joking about the 100-degree weather the Neosho crowd waited in Friday to hear the governor speak. “Our overall goal is not only to increase the retail presence, but make downtown a cooler, more enjoyable place to be.”

One of 10

Neosho is one of 10 Missouri communities chosen from 98 applicants for the governor’s DREAM initiative in late September 2006. The DREAM designation provides streamlined access to available programs, including both technical and financial assistance for infrastructure improvements, historic preservation, affordable housing, community services, business development, and job creation for three years.