By Anthony Scott
Killeen Daily Herald
The Texas Historical Commission awarded the city of Killeen two grants for its downtown projects.
Killeen will get about $19,600 to put toward the Downtown Historic District and videos about the city’s history.
The first grant will go toward nominating the Killeen Downtown Historic District to be included in the National Register of Historic Places. It’s worth about $7,100.
The announcement was made in a release from the city, which noted that the federal program recognizes the district’s historical significance, denoting it worthy of preservation. It might also make property owners in the district eligible for federal tax credits and future grant funding.
The second grant is worth about $12,500 and will be put toward creating video productions aimed to educate the public about the city’s history and encourage preservation. The videos are planned to include testimonials and visuals related to historic sites in Killeen.
Funding for the two grants was provided by the U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service.
Killeen has taken a number of steps in revitalizing downtown, including adopting a Historic Preservation Ordinance, establishing the Heritage Preservation Board, conducting a 2008 historic resources survey, designating the Downtown Historic District and adopting the Killeen Downtown Plan,” Killeen spokeswoman Hilary Shine said in the release. “Current projects include downtown streetscaping, building façade grants and the redevelopment of the former Baptist church property.”