By paNOW Staff

Downtown hopeful for revitalization dollars

May 18, 2011 | 12:15 PM

By Andrew de Souza

paNOW Staff

The city’s downtown is hoping to attract some provincial money to help with the revitalization the main business district.

The Prince Albert Downtown Improvement District Association is in the process of applying to the provincial Main Street Saskatchewan program, which is looking to provide four communities with up to $125,000 in matching funds per year for three years.

It’s a pilot program created by the Ministry of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport. The money received can go towards creating and implementing a plan to revitalize downtown commercial districts by restoring building facades and redesigning landscaping.

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The money will be awarded to just four communities in the province. But PADIDA executive director James Banman said he’s confident that Prince Albert is the right community for the program.

“We will be successful,” he said. “We are the most ready community in the province at the moment so I have no doubt that this is something that we are definitely in the running.”

Banman said that the money being offered by the province through the program is just what the city needs to achieve its potential.

“In the Downtown Prince Albert Strategic Plan, it talks about a dollar figure needed to improve the downtown into what we’d like it to be,” he said. “And the kind of money they’re talking about is exactly what we need to get started.”

Improving the downtown was an important part of keeping the entire city a vital place, Banman said.

“We’re not going to be buying our milk and toilet paper here ever again, we know that,” he said. “But with every community, it starts with downtown. That’s where communities begin and it would be a shame if we were to let that go.”

The deadline for the application to province is in mid-June and requires the completion of a large report and support of city council, which was given on Monday.

Recipients will be announced later in the year.

adesouza@panow.com