News
Albany Awarded Outstanding Community Empowerment Grant Community
Missouri Main Street Connection Inc. (MMSC) presented downtown awards recognizing performance excellence during Missouri’s Premier Downtown Revitalization Conference in St. Louis on July 28, 2023. The event was hosted at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark.
The ceremony Friday night honored communities, individuals, businesses, and organizations from across the state that have completed exemplary work in downtown revitalization. Competitive nominations were submitted for projects, activities, and individuals in 13 different categories that covered aspects of design, economic vitality, organization, promotion, and other efforts in downtown revitalization.
Missouri Main Street Connection is the leading statewide nonprofit organization devoted to preservation-based economic development. Through the Main Street America™ movement and our partners, we empower community revitalization by celebrating, supporting, and sustaining Missouri historic commercial districts in both rural and urban settings.
In 2022 Missouri Main Street communities have created 332 net new jobs, 146 net new businesses, saved 303 buildings, received $105.5 million dollars in public and private investments, and accumulated 62,165 volunteer hours in their districts. The cumulative total investment between 2006-2022 surpassed $1.26 billion or adjusted for inflation $1.63 billion!
Outstanding Community Empowerment Grant Community Awarded to Albany.
Albany is a community that joined the Main Street program in 2020 to revitalize its downtown area. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the Main Street board and committees worked hard to organize events, beautify the square, and support local businesses. Some of their achievements include:
Launching a weekly farmers market that attracted vendors, customers, and new businesses to the downtown square. The market also served as a small business incubator, helping some vendors open new storefronts or expand their products.
The organization started a scavenger hunt that increased foot traffic and sales for local shops. The event was well-received by the participants and the business owners, and many said they discovered new places to shop.
They transformed an unsightly alley into a colorful and inviting space with murals, lights, and plants. The project was funded by donations from community members and businesses to improve the appearance and appeal of the downtown area.
They created a cleanup day and installed chair sculptures to make the courthouse square more attractive and welcoming. Cleanup days involved community volunteers helping power wash, paint, and weed the square. The chair sculptures were unique art pieces that invited people to sit, sip & shop in Albany.
Lastly, they planted flowerpots around the downtown square. The design committee purchased new planters and contracted with the high school’s greenhouse for flowers and plants. They received additional help from Mosaic Medical Center’s Nurse Practice Council.
Main Street Albany has shown resilience, creativity, and community spirit in its efforts to make downtown Albany a vibrant and thriving place.
Main Street Albany recognizes donor
Main Street Albany is pleased to recognize Karen Grace, one of the organization's recent generous individual contributors.
Karen never lived in Albany, but her husband John graduated from AHS in 1954 and always spoke of his strong ties to Albany.
Locals may remember John's parents, Curtis and Virginia Grace. Curtis taught Vo-Ag and Virginia was a kindergarten teacher in Albany for many years.
In the late 1980s, Curtis published a book about the many families that can trace their roots to Tazewell County, Virginia. The Grace family is also related to John B. Hundley, a founder of Albany.
John was very active in FFA and went on to be a successful executive at Quaker Oats in St. Joseph. Like others from Albany, he attributed a lot of his success to growing up in the Albany community. "I knew John would want to support Main Street Albany in their efforts to revitalize downtown Albany," said Karen.
Albany's Ann Hogue receives award for volunteerism
Albany's Ann Hogue received the regional Senior Volunteer of the Year award from the Missouri Community Service Commission (MCSC) at the organization's 21st annual Show Me Service Awards, held in Jefferson City on June 22. Hogue was one of 27 award recipients from the MCSC, which featured recognition in different age groups, businesses, and organizations. Her Senior of the Year award was eligible to volunteers over the age of 55 in the 66-county North/Central region.
Nominated by Main Street Albany, Hogue was acknowledged for her wide array of service contributions to the community. Professionally trained in art, she contributes her talents to many local organizations. Ann has recently been volunteering with Main Street Albany as the organization's Design Committee chairperson. Ann accepted the task of envisioning a way to improve the community's aging downtown courthouse square through art and design and has succeeded greatly with little to no budget. Ann led projects for downtown art, murals, and clean up days.
"Ann is an invaluable member of our community and gives so much of her personal time to make it sparkle and shine. She has played a huge role in spurring the much-needed movement to revitalize our downtown," reads her nomination from Main Street Albany.
Missouri Main Street Connection Provides Design Services to Albany
Main Street Albany welcomed national design consultants and Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) staff on March 15-17. Randy Wilson of Community Design Solutions and Andy Kalback of Kalback Design joined Keith Winge of MMSC to provide design training, a building rendering service, and a streetscape rendering service for Main Street Albany.
The consultants met with the Main Street Albany board of directors, the Gentry County Commission, and City of Albany elected officials and staff to discuss the current conditions around the square, issues with transportation and safety, and desired outcomes. The consultants took a walking tour of downtown and met with business owners to discuss building façade improvements.
On Wednesday evening, Randy Wilson led a public design training session for the community at the Hundley-Whaley Extension & Education Center. Randy presented practical design and planning tips for downtowns and ways communities can improve the experience for residents and visitors.
On Friday morning, the consultants met again with community members to present their final recommendations. Andy Kalback presented design renderings for the streetscape around the courthouse square, which included a reduced pavement footprint, the addition of trees at the corners for shade, and an updated sidewalk layout. Randy Wilson presented building façade designs for three preselected businesses: Mary-Brooke’s/Albany Woodworking, Hogue Lumber, and American Family Insurance. The consultants provided the design renderings to Main Street Albany and the selected businesses for reference should funding for improvements become available.
MMSC was able to provide design services to the community through a USDA Rural Development Grant. Albany was selected based on past community involvement and current efforts to improve the physical aspects of our downtown square.
Main Street Albany Invites the Public to Attend Design Meetings on March 15 & 17
Main Street Albany is excited to welcome design consultants and Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) representatives to Albany on March 15-17. Randy Wilson of Community Design Solutions and Andy Kalback of Kalback Design will be joining Keith Winge of MMSC to provide building renderings and streetscape design solutions for Main Street Albany. The consultants will be analyzing the current streetscape design around the square and working with preselected business owners on the square to create design renderings for their storefronts. The consultants will meet with the Main Street Albany board of directors, city and county officials, and downtown property owners to create design recommendations and implementation guidance.
The Main Street approach to revitalization is based on four points: organization, economic vitality, promotion and design. This opportunity will help Main Street Albany determine ways to enhance the visible attractiveness of downtown through various design improvements to property and infrastructure. Public participation is also an important part of the Main Street process, and MMSC will be holding a public Main Street Design Training Session on Wednesday, March 15 at 5:30 pm at the Hundley-Whaley Education & Extension Center located at 1109 S Birch Street. Anyone who is interested in learning more about downtown revitalization through design and historic preservation is encouraged to attend.
A follow up presentation with building renderings and streetscape design proposals will be held on Friday, March 17 at 9:00 am at the Hundley-Whaley Education & Extension Center. The public is welcome to attend and view the consultants’ recommendations to keep Albany moving forward.
Main Street Albany’s Albany Square Farmers Market Awarded the Creative New Promotion, Affiliate Tier Award
Missouri Main Street Connection Inc. (MMSC) presented downtown revitalization awards recognizing revitalization excellence during Missouri’s Premier Downtown Revitalization Conference in Kansas City on August 5, 2022. The event was hosted at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown.
Missouri Main Street Connection is the leading statewide nonprofit organization devoted to preservation-based economic development. Through the Main Street America™ movement and our partners, we empower community revitalization by celebrating, supporting, and sustaining Missouri historic commercial districts in both rural and urban settings.
MMSC is proud to announce that we have been celebrating one billion dollars in public and private investment in Missouri Main Street districts. This milestone was reached at the end of 2021. In addition, Missouri Main Street communities have created 5,069 net new jobs and 1,068 net new businesses from 2006-2021.
The ceremony Friday night honored communities, individuals, businesses, and organizations from across the state that have completed exemplary work in downtown revitalization. Competitive nominations were submitted for projects, activities, and individuals in 16 different categories that covered aspects of design, economic vitality, organization, promotion, and other efforts in downtown revitalization.
Creative New Promotion, Affiliate Tier Awarded to Main Street Albany.
A committee of dedicated volunteers, local producers, and business owners started meeting in March 2021 to plan a farmers’ market on Albany’s downtown courthouse square.
The group enlisted the help of the University of Missouri Extension, a county specialist in nutrition and health education, and a horticulturist. A location was secured in front of a vacant building but in the same outdoor space being used by a swap & shop group on Thursdays that was already creating customer traffic.
The new farmers market operated every Thursday from May through October, launching on May 6th of 2021 with seven vendors. With the change of seasons, produce became more plentiful and more vendors were added to meet the increased demand. With the increase in foot traffic, the downtown retailers saw an increase in customers in their businesses as well.
The market inspired local entrepreneurs to test their products including a budding baker, local beekeeper, and coffee shop concept. The coffee shop became a reality by occupying a storefront selling coffee drinks year-round. As fall came around and produce choices became limited, the market expanded into handmade soaps, woodworking items, artwork, jewelry, and rugs. After a successful first year in 2021, the market is currently back for 2022 in downtown Albany.
Albany Square Farmers Market Returns May 5, 2022
The 2022 Albany Square Farmers Market Season will begin on May 5 and take place every Thursday from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on the downtown Albany Courthouse Square. The market will run through August 18. The market will have a NEW location on the north side of the square.
The Albany Square Farmers Market is a sponsored event by Main Street Albany.
The market will have a new location this year on the north side of the square. Local makers, craftsman and artisans are welcome to join the market all season long. “We saw a lot of success with our local makers, and we are inviting them back all season in 2022,” says Tonya McCampbell, Main Street Albany Promotions Chair. “It’s amazing to see how talented our local people really are, and we want to support them. We can’t wait to see everyone on May 5!”
Booth set up fees are minimal at $5 per session per vendor. The 16-week season may be paid in advance for $60 .
Vendor applications are available at Pansy’s Patch Quilt Shop, Bookworm Bargains, Albany City Hall or electronically on the City of Albany’s website: www.albanymo.net. For more information on the event contact Mackenzie Manring at ecodev@albanymo.net or 660-726-3807.
2020
Most Innovative Project for Repurposing Vacant Space Awarded to Three on the Square in Albany
In June 2019, a group of dedicated folks who makeup 3 on the Square, LLC. purchased two vacant buildings on the town square. The purchase was not planned, and in fact happened at an auction nearly by accident. The group purchased the properties in order to keep them as commercial spaces instead of being into residential.
The hope was to rehabilitate two beautiful old buildings, to restore activity on the square, boost the downtown economy, and help to revitalize the business district. There was much support of this project by family and friends, and the community was grateful for the effort. The new owners wanted the exterior to be a centerpiece for the north side of Albany’s square. The aluminum siding, a 40-foot long aluminum awning, and wood that covered the original bricks were removed. Four completely intact windows on the east building were discovered that had been covered for years.
The interior changed daily as architectural details were discovered and saved. While dealing with two distinct buildings connected by a 12-foot arched opening, it was easy to envision two types of venues, so the decision was made to make the building on the east a youth gathering space. The other side of the two buildings was to be an attractive adult venue which could be rented for special occasions.
“On the Square,” as it has come to be known, has rescued two vacant yet beautiful, historic buildings in Albany’s downtown. The owners hope this rescue will encourage entrepreneurs to start their own business.
2019
Albany Receives Downtown Revitalization Grant from Missouri Main Street
The Albany Community Development Corporation has been selected in a competitive application process to participate in a cost-sharing Community Empowerment Grant that provides training, mentoring, and technical services to revitalization programs in Missouri’s historic commercial districts. The grant is provided by Missouri Main Street Connection, Inc. (MMSC)
MMSC staff will visit with Albany’s downtown community leaders to evaluate existing and future needs of the downtown, and then schedule a series of customized training and mentoring sessions equipping them to concentrate on their local revitalization goals. MMSC State Director Gayla Roten noted, “This service grant offers an amazing opportunity to Albany Community Development Corporation to bring the community together to preserve and revitalize the district. We are excited to assist the entire community with this work!”
The goal of the grant is the development of a sustainable, volunteer-based organization that will carry out an economic development program based on the preservation of historic assets in the downtown, using the Main Street Four-Point Approach® to Revitalization.
With support from MMSC, the Albany revitalization group anticipates:
Maximizing on the benefit of being the Gentry County seat and the commerce that draws to the historic district.
Emphasizing the need for property upkeep and preservation to encourage new businesses to locate in the downtown area.
Utilizing the great number of artists in the area to create an appealing atmosphere for citizens and visitors alike.
During the next two years, MMSC will provide Albany with training and mentoring to establish a revitalization organization that will engage the entire community as a participant and beneficiary. The group also will attend regional revitalization workshops and conferences conducted by MMSC.
The Community Empowerment Grant is a 40/60 match, requiring the community to contribute 40% of the cash value of the services. The total value of the grant in training and mentoring services is $24,000. Albany also is now designated as an Affiliate in the Missouri Main Street Tier Structure which ranks progress on standards established by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Center.