LUMBERTON, Mississippi — The Lumberton Main Street Association said it has formed a grant committee and will use a $10,000 award from the Mississippi Power Foundation to test a downtown revival effort with facade grants to local businesses.
The association said it will distribute up to $2,000 per qualifying business in early April. Applications for the grant, which are open to Main Street Association members seeking to improve storefront exteriors, close April 9, the group said.
Association leaders said downtown Lumberton has struggled with vacant storefronts and limited retail options in recent years and that visible improvements could help shift that trajectory. John Maroney, executive director of the association, said the facade grant is meant to build momentum and establish a track record for future funding.
“It is all about just kind of updating the facades of the front of buildings,” Maroney said. “Then to create some pride in the building.” Maroney said the association considers five applications a successful first round and that strong participation would signal readiness for larger economic development grants.
Alan Triplett, owner of Lumberton Cafe, is among the first applicants and said he plans to use the funds for new signage and a fresh paint job. “You don’t have to match; you get up to $2,000 to improve your business. Who’s going to give you that money? It’s hard to get,” Triplett said. He said he and his wife moved to Lumberton in 2022 after nearly two decades running Finest Grind Coffee House in Ocean Springs.
Maroney said the grant committee will continue identifying funding opportunities as part of a broader effort to bring sustained economic development to the city. “I want Lumberton to be a place where people, not this rundown city per se, but they see vision. They see what Lumberton can be,” he said.
