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Love the Square reports growth, seeks STEP grant to expand downtown projects
Summary
Love the Square presented its 2024 annual report to the Board of Aldermen, highlighting new businesses, volunteer hours, grant investments, visitor counts and plans to pursue a $20,000 STEP grant from Missouri Main Street to fund downtown design and funding development.
Love the Square, the downtown revitalization nonprofit, presented its 2024 annual report to the Harrisonville Board of Aldermen, reporting new businesses, volunteer hours, and plans to pursue additional technical and grant support.
"Our mission is to revitalize the downtown area," said Jessica Jung, president of Love the Square. Jung told the board the group recorded roughly 1,600 volunteer hours in 2024, a conservative estimated local economic value of $52,847, awarded $4,500 in façade grants that leveraged about $22,000 in private investments, and attracted an estimated 10,000 visitors to downtown events last year.
Love the Square highlighted roughly six new downtown businesses in 2024 including The Chill Spot, Bake by Nina, Cella Health, Brownington, the District Bar and Grill and Lexington on the Square. The group said it has just under 6,000 social media followers and gained about 800 followers during the year; PlaceR AI analytics used by the organization estimated 1,700 attendees at Christmas on the Square, about 500 more than the previous year.
The group outlined priorities for 2025: apply for Missouri Main Street's STEP grant (roughly $20,000 in services) to secure consulting and implementation assistance; expand downtown shade via trees and planters; replace or redesign seasonal banners; continue the façade-grant program; and pilot a small-business intermediary lending or bridge program to help startups secure inventory and working capital. The organization also plans to broaden its "lunch-and-learn" training into a startup week combining legal, accounting, permitting and health-department resources.
Jung said Love the Square expects to shift its funding mix in 2025 so public support would decline from roughly 40% of its budget to about 30% as the group increases private funding and grant-seeking. The group's operating budget is around $50,000, she said — below the mid-size Main Street benchmark of roughly $60,000 for communities of Harrisonville’s size.
Board members complimented the organization’s progress and asked staff to coordinate on programs such as the 3-53 program and future grant opportunities. Love the Square requested continued city partnership on shade, banners and façade improvements; no formal city action was taken tonight.
