ELWOOD, Ind. -- If you like that small-town, main street life, the City of Elwood in Madison County is doing something new that might have you setting it as a destination in your GPS.
The old Opera House on Anderson Street in Elwood has been around since 1891.
When Randall Hall bought it, he said the place was "ugly and needed a lot of TLC."
At the time, he purchased the historic building, Hall just wanted a place with adequate office space.
He moved to Elwood from Carmel to take care of his in-laws.
Now, he's a steward of small town history.
He says, "It was like a dream come true. After we sandblasted the building, the brick was in such bad shape of needing all the mortar coming out. I'm blessed."
Hall says he feels blessed, thanks to a new partnership with the City.
Elwood's Uptown Revitalization Project is just getting underway. Thanks to a $250,000 grant from the Madison County Council last year, the City of Elwood is using the money to improve the facades, structures, and designs of its uptown buildings.
The mayor of Elwood, Todd Jones, says, "We want people to, when they drive through Elwood, we want the WOW effect."
Under the Uptown Revitalization Project, business owners in the designated district pay for 50 percent of the cost of renovations and the City pays for the other half.
Jones called it a "tremendous opportunity."
A block away from the historic Opera House, the owners of "2Guyz Boutique for Pets" are also getting in on the revamp, hoping that preserving the past helps Elwood invest in the future.
"We were able to take advantage of some grants that are out there," says co-owner Marty Spivey-Bevington. "We're hoping to be able to become an official main street neighborhood and that will afford us more grants down the road. And just be able to promote the city very positive light and bring more businesses to town."
So far, four Uptown Elwood businesses have been approved for the revitalization project, including a Papa Johns pizzeria, and four more applications are pending.
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