KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Independence. Share your story idea with Claire.
Small towns like Grain Valley, Mo., embrace their history. For decades, part of Grain Valley’s history has been covered up by siding.
Businesses along Main Street are undergoing facade improvements. The City of Grain Valley used a little under $40,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to match private property owner investments for the projects. The city gave out 10 matching grants.
“This is a historic district. It's been kind of forgotten about over the years, and through that program, we're really hoping to bring back what was once a very vibrant commercial area,” said Theresa Osenbaugh, the deputy city administrator.
For a couple of weeks, crews have been working on putting up new signs, giving buildings a fresh coat of paint, and in one case, taking off the siding of a building on the east side of the street. That siding hid brick that hadn’t seen the sun in 40 years.
“I ran out and took pictures immediately,” said Marty Napier with the Grain Valley Historical Society. “You know, you kind of forget what a building looks like, and it looks pretty much like I remember it, except I remember the side being red brick.”
Napier runs the local historical society, so she has plenty of pictures to use to look back on Main Street. It is a street that her family history has strong ties to — a street that she spent a lot of time on growing up in Grain Valley.
“When I was growing up it was such a vibrant little town,” said Napier.
Napier hopes that by sprucing up downtown, it will attract people and bring some life back to empty storefronts. That is the city’s overall goal.
“By cleaning up and investing and bringing these buildings back to life, we believe it will drive economic growth, allow residents to stay local and support local more, and just give us a sense of identity and pride in our community,” said Osenbaugh.
These projects may feel overdue to some. The city said around 70% of survey respondents said downtown was an eyesore and needed a facelift. Those responses gave the city an idea for the grant project.
