Revolving Fund Feasibility Study for Joplin MO

1772 Foundation, Downtown Joplin Alliance MO

In February 2019, the Downtown Joplin Alliance (DJA) submitted a successful grant application to the 1772 Foundation for a Feasibility Study for the Creation of an Endangered Properties Program/Revolving Fund for downtown Joplin. We partnered with Heritage Strategies, LLC  and were chosen by the DJA Board and began work on the $20,000 grant in June 2019.

An Endangered Properties Program (EPP) is an effort by a nonprofit historic preservation organization to acquire, stabilize and/or rehabilitate vacant or underutilized historic buildings and sell them to a preservation-minded buyer for rehabilitation with easement restrictions. The proposed Joplin Endangered Properties Program essentially “buys time” for threatened buildings to find a new owner. Today there are about two dozen vacant, underutilized, or threatened historic buildings in downtown Joplin that are being ignored by the local real estate market. The Joplin Endangered Properties Program committee will seek building donations or negotiate option agreements on downtown historic properties from building owners. Options take the property off the real estate market and stipulate a time period and purchase price.

Depending on the needs of the historic building, the EPP may conduct one or more studies on the optioned/donated property to overcome major objections for rehabilitation from potential buyers such as Phase 1 environmental testing, title search, engineering assessment, marketing plans, architectural drawings and sketches, economic feasibility studies/cash flow analysis, or an appraisal. The Downtown Joplin Alliance Board of Directors is considering its next steps toward implementation. See the Feasibility Study Report Here.  

Would you like to learn more about how a revolving fund could help your downtown?   Contact us.