In the Eye of the Beholder

With summer in full swing, the Marietta Community Foundation is hard at work on a project to help enhance the beauty of our Downtown District. Once approved, the project would bring welcome updates to the Foundation’s building façade.

A similar initiative, supported by the Foundation and facilitated by Marietta Main Street, is the Build Up Marietta program which seeks to champion economic development through a revitalized downtown. The project benefits the community as a whole by providing business owners in the downtown, C4, district of Marietta with matching grant funds for façade improvements. Applications are accepted on a quarterly basis throughout the year for these mini grants with the goal that owners will eventually be able to make improvements on their own thanks to improved business.

Historical preservation and beautification of the Downtown District encourages residents to shop locally, attracts tourists, and helps attract and keep small local businesses that bring unique goods and services to the area. It also ensures the preservation of our town’s historic beginnings while encouraging a continued, successful future.

“The Build Up Marietta initiative received a tremendous amount of donor support,” said Heather Allender, President and CEO of the Marietta Community Foundation. “We received contributions from multiple donors, showing this is a program our citizens care about.”

The Foundation has helped facilitate a number of initiatives that have brought beauty to the community over the years. Marietta in Bloom is one such initiative. Partially funded through the Foundation’s first grant cycle this year, Marietta in Bloom improves and maintains area planters and eight community gardens, many of which surround the entrances of Marietta and help form good first impressions of the city.

Beautification helps instill pride in the community. Whether through historical preservation, greenery, or a simple coat of paint, a little bit goes a long way to improve quality of life.

“Though not part of Build Up Marietta, the Foundation is happy to play our part in the beautification of our downtown through improvements to our own building,” said Allender. “We take pride in our historic downtown location and truly believe these improvements will have a lasting, positive impact on our local economy.”