Amory Main Street to receive funding from USDA Rural Partners Project

The Mississippi Main Street Association received funding from the USDA Rural Partners Network Project to assist 11 Main Street communities in the State.

AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – Amory Main Street may soon be getting some unique updates and renovations.

The Mississippi Main Street Association received funding from the USDA Rural Partners Network Project to assist 11 Main Street communities in the state.

Its purpose is to provide support and technical assistance to Main Street programs and foster activities in rural communities.

With a variety of local shops, restaurants, and more nightlife opportunities, Main Street Director Rebecca Riddle said they were one of 11 main street communities chosen throughout the state.

“We were selected by the Mississippi Main Street Association because we’re a town that was on the cusp of some really good projects and a lot of availability for us to grow and show an impactful project,” said Riddle.

A team will come to Amory to evaluate the area and decide on different projects, like sensory parks or asphalt art, that could be added to continue downtown growth, but the storm damage Amory suffered in March may send some of those plans back to the drawing board.

“As you know we were hit by a tornado not too long ago so some projects may look a little bit different than what we had originally intended them to look like but we will have a team that comes in and evaluates Amory itself and the position that it is in currently. We will also have people in our community that know about the town and know things that they want to see that we are able to give a little bit of input,” said Riddle.

Yazmine Johnson is a local business owner. She said this type of grant could help attract more customers.

“I’ve been a business owner for about three years and drawing people to the main street is how we are able to continue and grow our business downtown,” said Johnson. “I think any opportunity to revitalize our downtown is positive.”

Doyla Rosatia comes to Amory regularly.

She said  investing in the main street will continue to strengthen the community

“They keep the community strong. I mean, I know you have to do the Walmart thing and the Target thing and all that but these little businesses are your neighbors, and it’s so important to support them,” said Rosatia.

While the area may still be cleaning up from storms, Riddle hopes this will be a step toward creating Amory 2.0.

“We always want to strive to keep people in our town and get people in so we are hoping through this grant we will be able to create places that people want to be around. I know everyone is devastated by the tornado and the damage that has happened so we just want to create a positive impact that we had before the tornado,” said Riddle.

The Mississippi Main Street Association team is expected to review Amory in August.

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