Storefront Activation Update
October 8, 2020 | Janie Dennison
Things have been going AMAZINGLY in Marceline and Willow Springs with their Storefront Activation projects. Each community has their initial grant investment and created additional investment into their downtown.
Willow Springs had an incredibly attractive window display that quickly turned heads and garnered a sale on the property within 2 months. Here is a testimonial from the project building owner: “I was surprised at how quickly the grant helped move my building. It had been vacant for more than six months when the group put their first set of displays in the window. The displays went into the windows sometime around the beginning of July. The scenes they created to depict an upscale women’s boutique were creative, including backdrops, mannequins clothed in fashionable outfits, and various accessories in the window shelves. Two months later, we’ve closed on the sale. I couldn’t be more impressed.” The building will house an upscale leather store; their data shows that the community is lacking in outdoor-related businesses and this type of business will help immensely in helping to fill that gap. The Willow Springs group has now moved their project to another building and hope for continued success with this building as well.
In Marceline, the Zurcher building is undergoing major renovations right now! The window displays have helped to activate partners with downtown Marceline to renovate the building with an $180,000 investment. They are also still raising money for the continued revitalization efforts of the building. When completed, their plans are to continue to sell the space as an incubator for small businesses.
We are incredibly excited to see two success stories from two dedicated communities and we can’t wait for more to come!
