Downtown Branson seeks federal grants

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by Jill Henry |ret||ret||tab|

SBJ Reporter|ret||ret||tab|

jhenry@sbj.net|ret||ret||tab|

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While Branson Landing creates a new waterfront down the hill, downtown Branson is preparing for a new look as well. |ret||ret||tab|

Preserving the uniqueness of downtown is a priority for Gayla Roten, director of Downtown Branson Main Street Association. Roten is in the process of writing a community development block grant application. Dollar amounts needed for the project have not yet been determined, but she said the goals of the 230-member association are clear.|ret||ret||tab|

Merchants and property owners value the ambiance of Branson's downtown. "They don't want to lose that because it's not something that you can buy (and) it's not something that we can replace," Roten said.|ret||ret||tab|

High on the list is rehabilitating the downtown storefronts, some of which have been covered with shaker shingles or aluminum siding. "They want to remove those and let the old storefront show through, which a lot of them are brick and Carthage stone," she said. An architect has not yet been named for the rehabilitation project.|ret||ret||tab|

Improvements downtown will tie old and new together to make one 208-acre entertainment district, said Terry Dody, Branson's city administrator. The goal, he said, is to make the transition from old downtown to Branson Landing seamless, yet distinct. |ret||ret||tab|

"We want you to be able to see the difference between one area and the other, but we want both of them to be very, very interesting so that you have the curiosity of taking a look at the whole entertainment district," Dody said.|ret||ret||tab|

Roten said the CDBG money will not cover all of the needs of downtown. The association is looking at other funding possibilities for funding downtown Branson's revitalization, including the Neighborhood Assistance Program. |ret||ret||tab|

"It's a state tax credit program and we are presently recruiting dollars through it," Roten said. "And we are able to use those dollars in helping the property owners (and) business owners (in) coming up with a conceptual drawing of their storefronts."|ret||ret||tab|

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