Improvements to three buildings in downtown Bastrop comprising Jastays Community Services Inc. Child Care will be funded through a Louisiana Main Street Redevelopment Incentive Grant.

Owners George and Cynthia Taylor said they have applied for the grant several times in the past without success. This year, they have been awarded $2,500 in reimbursement funds for future improvements.

“We’ll be doing facial work, working on the exterior,” said George Taylor. “Basically, we’ve had to regroup because costs have gone up since we first started applying for the grant.”

The Taylors said they believe the buildings on North Washington Street were built circa 1955. They have owned and operated the daycare there since 2002.

They do not have a definite starting date for the project, but said they plan to begin around the first of next year with an April deadline for grant reimbursement.

Despite budget cuts to the Main Street program, $80,000 in Redevelopment Incentive Grants were awarded this year to 11 projects statewide. Out of 51 applicants for the grants, seven were awarded $10,000 each and four were awarded $2,500.

The grant applications are reviewed by an independent panel of profesprofessionals working in historic preservation, architecture, interior design and economic development.

Main Street Design Coordinator Leon Steel said the grant program has been expanded in recent years, from exterior building improvements to interior renovation as well.

“Anything that has to do with enhancing the Main Street experience,” said Steel. “The need for Redevelopment Incentive Grant assistance increases each year as everyone becomes more aware of the importance of revitalizing our historic commercial districts, but fewer dollars in the pot makes the funds all the more competitive.

“A lot of transformations have taken place since Bastrop became a Main Street community [in 2000].”

Bastrop Main Street manager Marc Vereen agrees, noting grant-funded improvements to the Swan Theatre and several other downtown properties.

“We are excited to get this grant,” said Vereen. “Especially since this is one of the first properties you see coming into town on highway 425. Combined with the Visitor Center, this will really add to the entrance to our historic district.”