State awards $6.7 million to 13 Southern Colorado towns for business relief

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A new grant program in Colorado, Main Street Open for Business, has divvied up nearly $7 million to small towns around the state to improve their façades and energy efficiency.

Five communities around Southeastern Colorado got more than $1.8 million from the state Department of Local Affairs.

One of the rural communities getting a grant is La Junta, which was awarded $391,566 to improve six buildings. That includes the restoration of the iconic Fox Theatre.

"It’s a gamechanger -- I mean no one has ever done this for small communities, especially rural communities, especially communities in the Southeastern part of the state," said the Director of Economic Development/Urban Renewal for La Junta, Cynthia Nieb.

The money was set aside by Senate Bill 21-252 for the Colorado Main Street program, according to the program's director, Gayle Langley. The initiative is designed to increase sales and revenue for rehabilitated buildings, reduce energy consumption, and lower utility bills, according to Langley.

Other cities receiving hundreds of thousands in grant money were Center, Central City, Flagler, Granby, Grand Lake, Hugo, Mancos, Rangely, San Luis, Silverton, Wellington, and Windsor, according to the Department of Local Affairs.