Community leaders hope grant will help revitalize Newcastle
NEWCASTLE — Community leaders here hope a state grant can help do big things for their community.
The Nebraska Department of Economic Development selected seven communities to receive Community Development Block Grant funding under the Planning category for 2019 and Newcastle will be one of those targeted.
Newcastle will receive $33,000 to develop a comprehensive downtown revitalization plan which will provide a blueprint to implement a cohesive look throughout the district, said Kate Ellingson Director of Marketing and Public Relations with the Neb. Dept. of Economic Development.
Bryan Gotch, Chairman of the Newcastle Village Board, said he hopes this is the first step in a general uplift to the village downtown area.
Gotch and board members Todd Brennan, Brian James, Amanda Kelly and Ryan Olander slowly put their heads together a few years back to uncover opportunities to improve downtown.
“This summer we really hammered into it,” Gotch said. “The board that we have right now is phenomenal. We are trying to revitalize downtown. We’ve got some older buildings that we hope to fix up, so they are around for the next hundred years.
Gotch said the Board took a long look at their community.
“It was more about viewing it and seeing items that need fixed. It was one of those things where we made it a priority and pushed hard to see what we could get and qualify for. The next piece – and ultimate goal – is to get the larger amount.”
Gotch said the talks with community business people could actually lead to moving away from fixing the buildings and might focus on other items once those conversations take place.
“It would be nice to have an urban gutter and concrete sidewalk versus what we have there,” Gotch said. “But for us, it’s more about uncovering opportunities and improving the downtown area.”
All of this could lead to potential new move-ins and potential commerce to the area, Gotch said.
“Hopefully, we get people to move in, and younger families to help our school districts,” he said.
Jan Merrill, of the Northeast Nebraska Economic Development District, Norfolk, prepared the application for the grant and said she started working with Newcastle in March. From there, they put together a community attitude survey to get input on what the village would want to do.
A town hall meeting was held in April and strategic planning started as the application was completed in October and sent over to the DED.
“They will hire a planning firm that would work with the village and determine what the need is and what the plan would be,” Merrill said. “There is no plan yet on what they want to do.”
The grant contract period is two years, and hopefully, it won’t take two years, according to Merrill. Usually it takes one year to complete the plan, she said.
“Then the community will have the opportunity to apply for a downtown revitalization grand,” Merrill said. “Then that will depend on the needs of the community.”
The total dollar amount of awards to be distributed is $285,614.
CDBG is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program that allocates funding to states to encourage projects that address a wide range of community development needs. DED administers CDBG funds on behalf of Nebraska to the state’s non-metropolitan communities under eight program categories, ranging from Planning to Tourism Development.
The Planning category supports community-wide planning efforts that will result in impactful local projects.
“Investing in our communities is about creating a great quality of life, but it’s also how we’ll continue to show the world that Nebraska is truly one of the best places anywhere to live and raise a family,” said DED Director Anthony L. Goins. “CDBG Planning grants support our Department’s goal of ensuring our communities have the tools they need to achieve their best visions of themselves.”
For more about the CDBG program, including about eligibility and how to apply in Nebraska, visit https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/cdbg.