The city of Canby, Oregon has been awarded an Oregon Main Street Revitalization grant for $200,000 to redevelop the former library building owned by city at 292 N. Holly Street. It was just one of 30 downtown revitalization grants awarded across Oregon in this 2019 cycle of the program.
Canby plans to turn the former library into a public market with shared, co-working space. While planning is in its early stages, the grant will help to install new windows and doors, roll-up garage doors, skylights, carpet removal and concrete polish, among other improvements. The city will work with an architectural firm to create renderings and plans for construction.
“We hope that this redevelopment will help to activate the space, encourage entrepreneurship, and become a destination for years to come,” said Canby Economic Development Director Jamie Stickel.
“The smaller spaces for both the public market and the office space will fill an expressed desire of existing and prospective small businesses who are looking for a bricks and mortar location,” he added.
The city previously applied for a 3-D modeling grant through Clackamas County in 2017. The 3-D modeling grant used LRS Architects to imagine two different options for the space: as a public market and as an office space. The application for the Oregon Main Street Revitalization grant used the renderings from 2017 to supplement the application.
Oregon Heritage, a division of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, awarded 30 matching grants throughout the state.
Oregon Main Street is a Main Street America™ Coordinating Program. Oregon Main Street works with communities to develop comprehensive, incremental revitalization strategies based on a community’s unique assets, character, and heritage.
Services are based on the successful Main Street Approach® developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street Center and include training and technical assistance. The goal is to build high quality, livable, and sustainable communities that will grow Oregon’s economy while maintaining a sense of place.
As a Main Street America™ Coordinating Program, Oregon Main Street helps to lead a powerful, grassroots network consisting of over 40 Coordinating Programs and over 1,200 neighborhoods and communities across the country committed to creating high-quality places and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development.
Photo of downtown Canby, Oregon by MB298 via Wikipedia.
See the full list of 2019 grant winners (PDF).
Learn about Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant and Oregon Main Street Network.