Oregon Heritage announced that Albany Downtown Association (ADA) was awarded not one but two 2023 Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grants bringing a total of $400,000 to Downtown Albany.
These grants will allow us to partner with both the Briggs Building and Greyhound Tavern!
“We are so honored and appreciative of these grants,” said Lise Grato, ADA Executive Director. “We can’t wait to get started on both projects.”
None of this would have happened without the strong leadership of Stephanie Gutierrez, ADA VP and Economic Vitality Committee Chair, the ADA Grant committee and the dedicated building owners spending countless hours researching and preparing the grant applications.
The Briggs Building project, home to Brick Circuit LEGO and Toy Store, is to save the only surviving commercial wooden building Downtown. It is leaning and in danger of being lost. The project solves the structural and systems issues, adds two apartments and revitalizes the historic façade.
The original Greyhound Tavern burned, but the location housed multiple popular restaurants and night spots over the years with lots of history including a visit by JFK on Feb. 9, 1960. This project will reactivate the property as a family-friendly destination offering wood-fired pizza and a music venue, filling a key Downtown Albany need.
It is unusual for a Main Street community to submit two applications, but we found both urgent and the grants highly needed. We are overwhelmed and delighted that both were selected.
This announcement means ADA has brought home $600,000 in grants to Albany building owners in the past two years. Oregon Heritage, a division of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, awarded 27 matching grants worth nearly $5,000,000 to Oregon Main Street Network organizations across the state for building projects that encourage economic revitalization. Projects range from façade improvement to basic facilities and housing with awards ranging from $62,930-$200,000.
