Transform Your Town into a Tourist Destination

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Great Bend, Kansas, is tackling revitalization with a two-pronged attack, and it's working!  Their innovative programs are breathing new life into their hometown.

Program 1: Welcoming Back Hometown Talent

The Come Home Reverse Scholarship program takes a unique approach.  Administered by the Golden Belt Community Foundation, it offers scholarships to attract former residents back to Great Bend.  This program explicitly targets professionals in critical areas, like the recent additions of physical therapy and chiropractic services.

Most recently, the MyTown group, dedicated to filling up the empty buildings of the downtown, was awarded a $260,650 grant from Great Bend Economic Development to help restore the historic Zarah Hotel.  The “Lofts at Zarah Project” will help further transform the downtown by providing twenty-four upper-floor loft apartments and opening up retail store fronts on the ground level.  This funding was in addition to $1,425,000 that was previously awarded to the project by the Kansas Housing Resource Corporation.  The full article on the grant can be found here.

Program 2: Lofts Upstairs, Shops Downstairs

The Loft Program, a collaboration between the city and the Main Street Organization, offers grants to downtown property owners.  These grants incentivize renovations that add apartments, or lofts, to upper floors while maintaining retail spaces below.  This increases housing options and encourages building upgrades to meet local codes.

These innovative programs are a win-win.  Loft conversions create vibrant mixed-use spaces, and the Come Home program brings valuable skills and services back to the community.  Great Bend's forward-thinking approach is a model for small towns looking to revitalize their downtowns.