SANTA FE, NM –The Economic Development Department and the New Mexico MainStreet program held the first Façade Squad work day in Santa Rosa the last weekend in April. The Façade Squad is a new program to attract and inspire private property owners in downtown districts to renovate and rehabilitate the front, street-side facades of their buildings.
The Façade Squad is envisioned as a volunteer-driven effort that involves local MainStreet programs, board and committee members, property and business owners, service organizations, municipal governments and staff. The program provides professional architectural and design assistance through the New Mexico MainStreet Program, the state’s Economic Development Department and the Friends of New Mexico MainStreet.
“MainStreet is the heart of our rural communities like Santa Rosa, and we must do everything we can to rehabilitate and revitalize these areas as means of encouraging economic development and community pride,” said Economic Development Department Cabinet Secretary Fred Mondragón.
New Mexico MainStreet will work closely with local MainStreet programs to identify potential Façade Squad projects within a community. They will then focus on one downtown block along a main street and begin to help with design services to update and improve the facades. The Façade Squad project then moves forward with local organizations and resources that provide materials and volunteers to complete the renovation within a one or two day time period.
Santa Rosa MainStreet program was chosen as the pilot project for this new initiative. Santa Rosa’s community work day brought out more than 25 volunteers. The Santa Rosa Façade Squad effort was collaboration between Santa Rosa Main Street, the City of Santa Rosa, New Mexico Main Street, the Friends of New Mexico Main Street, the McCune Charitable Foundation, the Nuestros Vecinos program of Eastern New Mexico Plateau Telecommunications, and First Community bank.
The Façade Squad’s efforts complement the city’s new streetscape improvements in Santa Rosa, including streetlights, curbs and gutters, and public art. The next Façade Squad project is scheduled for Clovis on May 23rd.
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