Editor’s Note: This report was written by Source Media Journalism Fellows Avery Smith and Hudson Stacy.
MANSFIELD — Applications are open for a one-time grant program to assist small businesses struggling during the Main Street Improvement Project.
Downtown Mansfield Inc. will administer the $50,000 grant program, funded with the $5 driver’s license fees received by the Downtown Improvement Advisory Committee.
The applications went live Thursday, said Jennifer Kime, CEO of Downtown Mansfield Inc. Twenty grants of $2,500 will be available.
To qualify for this grant, businesses must be located on Main Street as a brick and mortar location and be actively registered with the City of Mansfield Department of Taxation. Businesses must also be able to show a loss of at least 25% of sales revenue over a 60 day period as compared to 2024.
Grants will be distributed to qualifying businesses on Main Street that provide proof of lost income. They will be available on a first-come, first-served basis until all grants are used, or until Oct. 1, 2026.
‘Business has definitely been affected’
Lane closures from the ongoing Main Street project have disturbed downtown car and foot traffic. When asked about the effects of construction on business, some owners reported declining traffic and sales.
“[Business] has definitely been affected. I would say probably 40% at least,” said Nichole Hamilton, owner of Two Cousins’ Pizza Co.
Ongoing construction has also resulted in utility interruptions for some buildings on Main Street.
“We actually have closed two days because of the water and delayed opening because of the water,” Hamilton said. “They busted a gas line out front and we had to delay to open one day.”
Businesses have reported multiple instances in which they have had to close or delay opening due to loss of utilities.
“We’ve been shut down a couple of days with no water here,” said Braxton Daniels III, owner of 3rd Cup Tea. “We had to get our electric redone, so then you got some days our front entrance isn’t accessible.”
Kime and Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry both said the water main repair is the first and most invasive of several stages in renovations to the downtown area.
“We know there’s going to be planned water outages as part of the project, because we’re actually replacing the entire water main system, as well as the service lines,” Perry said.
“We scheduled that project to do most of that work at night, on weekends, things like that, to try to avoid the main crunch time for businesses.”
Nevertheless, Perry said unscheduled issues like water main breaks have occurred.
“The good news is at this point in the project, we have tied all the valves off, so when things happen outside of downtown, we can limit their impact on this area,” she said.
“I believe all the service lines up through about the square at this point are tied in (to the main line).”
Communication a key
Brent Rossman, a communications specialist working with DMI, has headed up communication efforts about the progression of the Main Street project. Through a text notification system and door-to-door visits, Rossman has attempted to keep businesses informed.
But some business owners said there have been hiccups in the communication.
“If there was a scheduled water delay of some sort, I’m not getting the information until afterwards,” Hamilton said.
Daniels said most of the communication from the city and DMI on scheduled outages “has been good” — but there have been unexpected outages as well.
“It’s the surprises that get us,” he said. “When they ripped the gas lines out of the basement down over at Relax, I had to wait two hours for us to open back up. Situations like that — that’s not a planned thing, but it also affects everybody.”
Perry said she’s also working to keep lines of communication open with local business owners.
“I have been walking through downtown talking with business owners, obviously, with my background at the (Richland Area) Chamber, a lot of them I knew already, and encourage them to reach out when they have questions or concerns,” explained Perry.
Business owners said they’re optimistic about how downtown will look after the project is completed — but to make it through, they need customers to brave the construction.
“I do see benefits of this, but it’s hard,” Hamilton said. “Support local. Support us downtown. We really do need the support.”
The Main Street project is set to continue through October 2026. For more information on project progress and updates, visit mainstreetmansfield.com.