KILLEEN, Texas (February 26, 2024) – The City of Killeen has unveiled its first Shop Downtown Business Directory, complete with 59 businesses. The directory includes restaurants and businesses that specialize in entertainment, education, retail, self-care and more.
Revitalizing downtown is all part of the Killeen 2040 Moving Forward Plan (formerly the 2022 Comprehensive Plan), which kicked off its second year in August 2023 and is a plan that outlines the vision for the city over the next two decades.
More than 20 percent of the plan has already been completed, including the portion that addresses downtown revitalization. In just one year, the downtown business occupancy rate went from 30 percent to nearly 80 percent and there are multiple business owners in the Historic Downtown District who have now expanded and opened a second business.
The Downtown Revitalization Program took a downtown that was known for blight and vacancy and turned the area around, through building community pride, supporting local businesses and with creative use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) funding.
Grant and incentive programs allowed for 35 new small and locally-owned businesses to open in downtown, bringing life to once vacant buildings and adding nearly 90 jobs to the local economy.
The Downtown Revitalization Program focused not only on bringing financial investment, but community investment, by leveraging more than 1,000 volunteer hours in the first year.
This all helped the Downtown Revitalization program win the Texas Downtown Achievement award for the Best Economic Game Changer recently. The award recognizes a project, program or promotion that had a measurable impact on a downtown or commercial district in a striking and powerful manner. The City would like to remind all that Killeen’s Downtown division offers Expanded Improvement Grants for qualified business owners to improve and renovate buildings. This program is intended for renovations and repairs that do not exceed a total project cost of $100,000. This grant will match funds of 80% of the total renovation to $25,000 and provide a 50 percent match to $50,000. Information about grants and incentives can be found at www.KilleenTexas.gov/Downtown.
The division also started a Shop Downtown program where visitors can pick up a $10 cash card and spend it at any participating location in Downtown Killeen. Citizens just take a photo and tag the City of Killeen with the Killeen interactive art sign in Historic Downtown, then stop by the Downtown Revitalization office (200 East Avenue D) during business hours to pick up a cash card. The program is part of a larger grant-funding initiative that serves to stimulate economic growth and provide opportunities for downtown businesses and nonprofits. For more information, visit www.killeentexas.gov/shop.
The Killeen 2040 plan was created based off community feedback on priorities for the city and will be used to shape our growth and evolution over the next 20+ years.
The full Killeen 2040 Plan can be found at www.KilleenTexas.gov/Killeen2040 and citizens can find out more about the Historic Downtown District at www.KilleenTexas.gov/Downtown. A video explaining the plan can be viewed there or on the City of Killeen’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/heysxJ8dY4s.