Main Street Greenwood Inc. has completed work on two building façades downtown.
The first building, located at 410-414 Main St., houses the Greenwood school district’s alternative school. The second, at 216-218 West Washington St., houses a portion of the Hammons & Associates advertising firm and an annex of the law firm of Upshaw, Williams, Biggers and Beckham and is owned by Lina Elfert.
“We finished them up the week before Christmas,” said Brantley Snipes, Main Street’s executive director.
Snipes said she worked closely with Jim Mattox, the Greenwood school district’s assistant superintendent, on the project involving the school building.
Elfert said Snipes made the process of applying for the grant very easy.
“It went like clockwork. ... I’m pleased with the work and with the help that I got from Main Street,” she said.
Specifically, Elfert said some of the façade’s stucco needed work. Snipes said this involved “repointing” the stucco and painting the building’s exterior.
Elfert praised the project’s goal, saying it is “a great opportunity for people downtown.”
Snipes said the façade work at each location cost about $1,000. The funds came out of Main Street’s general façade grant program rather than through the Foundation for the Mid South, which has funded several storefront façades over the past year, she said.
Allan Hammons, who rents a portion of the West Washington building and is a former member of Main Street’s board, said the façade program has helped downtown Greenwood.
“The overall look of downtown has so much improved over the past decade,” he said.
Visitors from California and Arkansas have commented specifically on how great the downtown area looks, and that’s in large part due to the façade grant program, he said.
“It’s just one aspect of it, but it’s an important aspect,” he said.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
