Plainview receives $500k grant for downtown revitalization, improvements to courthouse square
PLAINVIEW — Downtown revitalization is set to continue in the heart of Hale County as Plainview officials on Tuesday announced a major grant-funded project to improve several blocks surrounding the county courthouse.
In a news conference at City Hall, Texas State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, announced a $500,000 award for the City of Plainview from the Texas Department of Agriculture's Community Development Block Grant program. The half-million dollars will be used to fund the second phase of the city's downtown streetscape project, the first of which wrapped up in in 2022.
More: Plainview celebrates completion of downtown streetscape project
This second phase will bring landscaping, lighting, sidewalk and pedestrian-access improvements to the blocks of Sixth and Ash streets that face the Hale County Courthouse. The Broadway Street portion of the square was improved during phase one, which stretched down Broadway from Fifth Street to Eighth Street.
"If you watch a Lifetime or Hallmark movie at Christmas, almost every one of them is centered around the town square. If you think about it, when they kiss at the end of the movie — and you know it's coming — it's always around the square of a rural community of some sort," Perry said. "So it's critical that that square has a heartbeat."
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Representatives from the South Plains Association of Govenments, which helped the City of Plainview secure the grant, presented a certificate representing the grant award to Mayor Charles Starnes. Other representatives from local, state and federal governments were also present at the news conference Tuesday morning.
Starnes said he hopes the second phase of the project, just like the first before it, will incentivize economic investment into Plainview's downtown, especially around the historic square.
"Optimism is alive and well in downtown Plainview. It's evidenced by the more than 30 property and business owners who have opened new businesses, purchased and renovated vacant buildings, all in quest of their dream of business success," Starnes said. "Phase two … will give a new boost to the businesses surrounding the courthouse.
"Fueled by the dedication of volunteers and businesses within the community, downtown Plainview continues to experience strong growth, demonstrating the resilience, community spirit and optimism of those who first explored the opportunities that Plainview has," Starnes added. "This project represents another 'opportunity to reality' for Plainview, and we're going to make the best of it."
City officials expect construction to commence before the end of the year.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Plainview receives $500,000 grant for downtown revitalization, improvements
