Making a BIG Impact in a Small Town: Over a Million Dollars Invested with the Business Improvement Grant

All over Oklahoma, and the country, downtowns are disappearing. It is not uncommon to travel through a small town and see once bustling Main Streets abandoned— buildings crumbling and property owners boarding up windows. Not only does this leave little space for budding entrepreneurs to follow their dreams of starting their own businesses, but it can affect the character, pride, and morale of a community. In Ada, however, we are lucky that individuals and organizations saw an opportunity to revitalize our downtown area. Partnerships between the City of Ada, Ada Main Street, and the Ada Jobs Foundation created the Business Improvement Grant which gives small business owners the chance to improve their businesses while investing in our downtown.

Several years ago, Ada Main Street provided façade grants for businesses, but they were in the amount of $250, which, while better than nothing, cannot accomplish much. But in 2019, Randy McFarlin, in conjunction with Ada Main Street, the City of Ada, and the Ada Jobs Foundation, wanted to find a way to provide business owners with money for preservation and restoration, giving them an opportunity to improve their businesses. They looked at what other communities were doing and primarily found façade grants, but McFarlin wanted to do something more than that. He says, “It was important that it was not just a face lift but projects that would help make businesses more profitable.”

They went to the city to ask if money from Proposition 2 funds for Economic Development could be used for the purpose of downtown revitalization and, while the original ask was $50,000, the City of Ada, with McFarlin’s encouragement, raised the number to $100,000, and the Business Improvement Grant was created. Since its establishment, the city has invested $390,582 dollars in this program. However, the total amount invested in Main Street nearly triples this at $1,115,559; 86 businesses have been impacted, 61 projects have been completed, and 7 new living units have been created.

The Business Improvement Grant provides up to a $5,000 match to downtown business or building owners. They must apply for the grant, but are also encouraged to meet with committee members to make sure that their goals are attainable. The committee members are passionate about their work with this grant and want to help these individuals improve their businesses in both aesthetics and functionality so it is in everyone’s best interest that their projects are reasonable and that owners can complete them successfully. Four of the committee members, Amy Kaiser, Randy McFarlin, Todd Moon, and Joe Dougherty, have been on board since the committee’s inception. Jim Lawson, another founding member, was active on the board until last year and played a crucial role in the development of this program. Joining them are Lakelynn Green, Staci Bungard, Carol Ervin, Daniel Castaneda, and Amy Childers Elliott. The biggest change they have made to the program is the addition of the MEGA grant, which provides a match up to $10,000 and supports building owners in creating upper story downtown living spaces to help with our community’s housing needs and further downtown revitalization.

One of the things that makes our Main Street district unique is its size. Amy Kaiser, former director of Ada Main Street, notes that while most communities have a district of 6-10 blocks, ours extends from the Chickasaw Travel Stop at the west end of Main Street all the way down to ECU on the east end. It also encompasses tenth and twelfth streets in the downtown corridor. Many visitors to Ada get their first impression of the city from Main Street. This is one of the reasons why the community and local organizations prioritize encouraging businesses to improve their aesthetic appeal as well as their functionality. These improvements help promote economic development in multiple ways. Carol Ervin, President and CEO of the Ada Jobs Foundation, says, “The Building Improvement Grant (BIG) fosters economic growth by incentivizing property owners to upgrade their buildings. These enhancements attract new businesses and customers to our downtown area.”

When new businesses or individuals want to relocate, there are many factors that they consider. Kaiser says, “They look for a vital downtown, great school system, and a community government that is willing to strengthen and grow what is already there and not stagnate.” The Business Improvement Grant, as well as other downtown improvements, illustrates this commitment perfectly. While it is nice for the people of Ada to have a lovely Main Street to enjoy, local initiatives, like the Business Improvement Grant, help current businesses become more profitable and encourage new businesses to relocate to Ada. McFarlin says, “Our core business area is successful and functioning, and the community realizes how important the downtown is. We rarely have vacancies downtown. If one business goes out, then another comes in.”

The Business Improvement Grant helps current business owners make improvements that they might not otherwise afford. Lakelynn Green, Executive Director of Ada Main Street says, “The Ada Business Improvement Grant is instrumental in strengthening our downtown district, enabling businesses to make meaningful improvements that enhance both their operations and the overall vitality of Ada’s Main Street.” This helps businesses, but it also helps the community that shops there. Even if people choose not to shop, they can enjoy the beautiful downtown and participate in many Main Street events. In addition to this, though, the Business Improvement Grant demonstrates our pride in the community and our willingness to invest in it, which can attract other potential businesses. While the Business Improvement Grant focuses on improving businesses, it also actively enhances our quality of life.