The City of Wetumpka has been awarded a $45,000 grant to help the city revitalize its downtown area. The announcement was released by Gov. Robert Bentley on Friday.
The Community Development Block Grant will enable Wetumpka to develop a plan to encourage more businesses and visitors to its downtown. The plan will focus on filling vacant buildings and improving its riverfront to attract residents and tourists to downtown.
“Wetumpka and its downtown have a long and vibrant history,”Bentley said. “It is my hope that through this plan and community involvement that city officials will come up with the right formula to strengthen downtown.”
Components of the revitalization plan will focus on infrastructure, traffic and pedestrian access and circulation, parking, economic potential, appeal and aesthetics, recreation needs and implementation schedules.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the awards from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Bentley notified Mayor Jerry Willis that funding had been approved. The city has pledged $155,000 in local funding for the project.