Page 4 - TR Spirit of Batesville May 2016

4SS SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2016 SPIRIT OF BATESVILLE • THREE RIVERS EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRATGAZETTE
WILLIAM HARVEY/THREE RIVERS EDITION
Downtown Batesville is a thriving area that features a number of shops, restaurants and more.
Revitalizing
downtown
BATESVILLE’S DOWNTOWN AREA EXPANDING AND GROWING
By Cody Graves
SPECIAL SECTIONS WRITER
New things are headed to downtown Batesville as community leaders work to breathe new life into the area.With new
businesses, new living spaces and the return of an old favorite on the horizon, the downtown area is becoming a destination for Batesville residents.
As one of the oldest cities in Arkansas, Bates- ville has a lot of history in its downtown area. To help preserve that history and bring the area into the future, Main Street Batesville is work- ing to create an area that is attractive to new business and visitors. Joel Williams, executive director of Main Street Batesville, said the work being done in the downtown area helps show prospective business owners that the area will be attractive to customers.
“Downtowns are becoming a lot better for small independent businesses, for lower rent and things like that, to try their idea and see if it can work and grow,” he said. “[Downtown] is already a good incubator in the first place for a small business to come and grow downtown.”
In order to help businesses with moving to downtown, Main Street Batesville offers a couple of initiatives to make the transition easier. For example, Main Street Batesville will pay the busi- ness’s first-year dues to the Batesville Chamber of Commerce, as well as offer free consultation services. One of Batesville’s local financial es- tablishments also recently announced a new small-business loan program that offers low-in- terest rates to businesses in downtown Bates- ville, he said, along with a new grant program for established downtown businesses.The grant allows existing businesses to make repairs, ex-