New Mexico MainStreet Announces the communities of Eagle Nest, Mountainair, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Springer, Tularosa, and Villanueva have been selected for this year's Frontier Communities Initiative. The Frontier Communities Initiative was established by the New Mexico Legislature and signed into law by Governor Martinez in 2013 for communities under 7,500 in population.
"The Frontier Communities Initiative is an important tool to help create positive economic impact in our smaller communities," said Governor Susana Martinez. "I congratulate Eagle Nest, Mountainair, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Springer, Tularosa, and Villanueva as they begin work on these important projects in their communities."
The Frontier Communities initiative is a community economic development partnership for qualifying communities within a traditional or historic commercial district.
"This initiative will ensure that these communities will be able to work on critical projects for economic growth," said Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela, whose department oversees the program. "I commend the Frontier Communities Initiative and these communities in creating projects that will have great economic impact for years to come."
This year's Frontier Communities are Eagle Nest, Mountainair, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Springer, Tularosa, and Villanueva:.
Eagle Nest - Event Development. The project will work on planning, designing, and developing signature events to be hosted at the newly constructed "Enchanted Eagle Park" in the heart of Eagle Nest. The park has been a primary economic development project for the village over the last five years and includes new sidewalks, parking spaces, landscaping, and a pavilion. The development of signature events could help extend the tourism season by two months and stimulate additional economic growth and employment opportunities.
Mountainair - Placemaking/Design. Mountainair will receive landscape design and placemaking assistance to convert an empty lot adjacent to the Salinas Missions Visitor Center into a town square/park that will connect the Historic Shaffer Hotel and Salinas Missions Visitor Center to the existing commercial district. The landscape design project is the first step in a larger project to reconnect a fragmented commercial area into a cohesive and walkable space that takes advantage of the Salinas Missions Center, which draws thousands of visitors to the area each year.
Santa Clara - Façade Improvement Program. The project will create façade designs for historic buildings along Bayard Street, the main commercial corridor for the Village of Santa Clara. Buildings identified for façade work are part of Santa Clara's "Historic Walking Tour" and were once vital economic drivers for the community. Business owners and local stakeholders will use the designs and training assistance to begin reviving the historic storefronts and spur additional property investment.
Santa Rosa - Adaptive Reuse/Business Plan. The project will focus on the adaptive reuse of the Ilfeld-Johnson Warehouse, a two-level 9,000-square-foot stone structure built in 1901 as a wool warehouse for the railroad. Preliminary ideas include indoor market stalls, business incubator spaces, art galleries, outdoor market, and a brewpub. The project is part of Santa Rosa's Visioning Plan to enhance existing amenities while fostering new growth and economic development.
Springer - Placemaking and Revitalization Plan. NMMS will assist the Town of Springer with the development of a viable downtown revitalization plan and potential façade improvements to help bring local businesses, stakeholders, and municipal partners together to regenerate the downtown business district.
Tularosa - Image & Branding Development. As a participating Frontier Community in FY2015, the Village of Tularosa was able to leverage technical assistance around streetscape revitalization and building renovation from New Mexico MainStreet to receive $576,389 from NMDOT to repair and renovate the sidewalks and streetscapes of three blocks of Historic Granado Street. The current project will capitalize on these upcoming capital improvements through the development of a marketing, branding, and event design strategy to help foster economic activity throughout the entire village.
Villanueva - Entrepreneur Development. The Village of Villanueva is part of an agricultural valley stretching 12 miles along the Pecos River. The project revolves around youth and community engagement.
For more information about the Frontier Communities Program, please visit the website at: http://www.gonm.biz/Frontier_Communities.aspx.