CRESWELL – With strings of twinkling lights delicately draped over downtown’s trees, Oregon Avenue always shines especially bright this time of the year. Thanks to a county grant, plans are underway to make its storefronts shine year-round by the end of 2026.
Last week, the City of Creswell was awarded a $30,000 grant through Lane County’s Community & Economic Development Program to create a façade improvement program within the City’s 12-block Downtown District.
City Planner Curtis Thomas and Intern Fabian Gomez Hernandez requested funding in October to create the program to help fund improvements such as exterior painting, masonry repair or cleaning, and the repair or replacement of windows, doors, awnings, and signage.
“The City is thrilled to have received this award and … the opportunity to create the city’s first-ever Façade Improvement Program,” Thomas said. “The project idea is to allow downtown businesses to apply for façade improvements … and we hope to fund as many projects as possible.”
Eligible projects will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. A business or property owner can request up to $10,000 in improvements from that fund, according to the city memo.
Thomas said that, while the City anticipates that active businesses will be more interested in applying for façade improvements … a vacant storefront would be eligible to apply for the grant – “and we would encourage them to do so.”
Investing in the appearance of Creswell’s downtown storefronts translates into economic development and job growth because, “If (downtowns) are active, attractive, and vibrant, they can entice shoppers, additional business investment, and generate civic pride,” according to Samantha Roberts, Lane County’s community and economic development analyst. “Having a clean, safe, and attractive commercial center is a foundational need for maintaining community jobs, services, and property tax revenues.”
The City intends to use the grant as a catalyst for further development, creating a “keeping up with the Joneses’ effect” that encourages neighboring properties to make improvements on their own, anticipating that the grant will directly spur investment and lead to a more active and vibrant downtown, potentially increasing property values, according to the memo.
Façade improvements will allow for further growth of the City’s commercial elements, aligning with the City’s 2020 Downtown Plan’s aim of “investment and beautification.”
“It’s great to be able to execute the goal with public investment by putting our Council-adopted plans into action,” Thomas said.
The improvements are expected to be entirely constructed by Dec. 31, 2026.
Thomas said the City plans to issue a press release in the upcoming days.
Other grants awarded
Six nonprofits will also receive grant funding ranging from $25,000 to $30,000, including Catholic Community Services (CCS), Eugene Springfield NAACP, Black Cultural Initiative (BCI), H.O.N.E.Y., Inc., Onward Eugene, and Viking Textile Maker Hub.
The grants are funded through the County’s allocation of state lottery funds earmarked to support economic development projects and programs, Roberts said, and this year’s cycle has a particular emphasis on strengthening the childcare workforce, enhancing workforce development in key sectors like healthcare, and providing business assistance and financial literacy.
- CCS offers support with food, rent, utilities, and housing, and provides emergency shelter, helping resettle refugees and immigrants. Its Refugee & Immigrant Services Program (RISP) focuses on employment placement for individuals with Limited English Proficiency. The grant will help RISP provide business technical assistance and workforce training to immigrant-owned businesses in the healthcare and manufacturing sectors.
“The healthcare sector has the largest demand of workforce needs in the various industry sectors locally. Manufacturing is also a critical industry to support as that industry provides family living wages and benefits. Both industry sectors help create economic prosperity in our communities,” Roberts said.
- H.O.N.E.Y. Inc. (Honoring Our New Ethnic Youth) supports local ethnically diverse youth and families, and its enrichment programs provide essential, safe, and culturally responsive childcare. The grant will support 200 working families with free childcare and enhance wages for childcare workers in the industry.
- Onward Eugene, part of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, is launching the Lane Early Learning Registered Apprenticeship (LELA) program, which aims to train at least 20 childcare apprentices in the Florence/Siuslaw region to enhance employment, qualifications, and wages for local providers.
“Lack of childcare in Lane County affects a family’s ability to seek full-time employment. In addition, at-home childcare businesses represent new small business opportunities,” Roberts said. “These projects innovate on methods for making childcare a more stable and supportive career which benefits not only our communities’ children and families, but our workforce as a whole.”
- BCI offers financial literacy workshops, vocational training, and business incubation. In 2026, BCI aims to train 120 individuals in financial literacy, prepare 80 for the workforce, and provide technical assistance to over 50 businesses with the grant.
- The Eugene/Springfield NAACP advocates for communities of color, focusing on education and cultural inclusion. The grant will enhance its Healthcare Careers Pathways program, training 30 youth for medical certifications.
- VTMH trains unhoused and economically vulnerable individuals in sewing skills, creating a pipeline of workers for local employers, and, with grant funding, aims to train 36 residents to repair or manufacture over 570 items.
