Cumberland Gap was 1 of 10 Tennessee Communities selected in 2022 to participate in the Tennessee Downtowns program.
The Tennessee Downtowns program helps local communities revitalize traditional commercial districts, enhance community livability, spur job creation and maintain the historic character of downtown districts. The two-year program coaches selected communities and their steering committees through the steps of launching effective renewal efforts. Tennessee Downtowns includes community training in the Main Street America program and a $15,000 grant for a downtown improvement project.
You may reach out to any member of the Steering Committee if you have any questions, need additional information, or want to be an active participant in this project. Steering Committee members can be reached by emailing The Guardians of the Gap at guardiansofthegap@gmail.com. The committee members include: Amber Chadwell; Kimberly Kotlar; Tony Maxwell; Bradley Smiddy; Natalie Sweet; and Morgan Wheeler. Updates on the program will be posted on this page as the information is available.
Tennessee Downtowns revitalization webinar series- Basics on how to organize a downtown revitalization program. You must register in advance for all webinars (after registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar). The registration link will be posted once available. After each webinar slides and a recording will be posted. All webinar dates are Wednesdays and will start and 1:00 pm.
9/21/2022 topic= Organization : Slides- Organization 9-21-22 ; Webinar Recording (Passcode Cwfx5F&Q); Notes from _Organization 101_ – 21 September 2022
9/28/2022 topic= Design : Slides- Design 9/28/2022 ; Webinar Recording Passcode: HyT&f35N ; Notes from __Design 101__- 28 September 2022
10/5/2022 topic= Promotion – Slides- Promotion 10-5-22 ; Webinar Recording Passcode: 50g?smEc ; Notes-Promotion 101 – 05 October 2022
10/12/2022 topic= Economic Vitality – Slides- Economic Vitality-10-12-2022 ; Webinar Recording Passcode: Passcode: 5u#%dHu1 ;
Cumberland Gap TNDT Plan of Work Report 11 November 2022
Cookeville Key Takeaways & Prioritization – Dec 2022 – Inventory of Ideas ;
August 2022- Tennessee Downtowns Steering Committee update
Notes and presentation from the July 7, 2022 visit from Tennessee State program leaders: Cumberland Gap TNDT Initial Visit ; 07 July 2022 – TN Downtowns Preliminary Visit Notes
We are pleased to share with you today the final update report for our town’s Tennessee Downtowns project – the TNDT Going Forward Report
You may recall from previous updates regarding this 2-year project that Year 1 (2022-2023) was spent learning from the State of Tennessee about the National Main Street 4-point approach to downtown revitalization. All of the Year 1 updates that were published continue to be available to you on the town’s new branded and tourism-focused website at townofcumberlandgap.com. Year 2 (2023-2024) was spent executing a tourism branding and marketing project that was supported by the State of Tennessee ($15,000) and The Guardians of the Gap (>$20,000), and all of the monthly updates that were provided during Year 2 can be found within the Minutes of each month’s Board of Aldermen meeting.
The TNDT Steering Committee, Guardians of the Gap, and your City Council have worked together in an inclusive and transparent manner to deliver project outcomes that directly and positively impacted our town’s downtown revitalization efforts. Due to the successful delivery of a new town logo with the tag line (“Explore Our More”), a best-in-class tourism-focused town website, and a creative and colorful professional walking tour map of our downtown, our town is now eligible to participate in a significant “Downtown Improvement Grant” (DIG) application process that, if awarded at maximum potential value, could result in downtown commercially zoned properties being eligible for up to $300,000 (combined) in State funds for building facade improvements, streetscape work, way-finding signage, etc. Only towns who are alumni of the Tennessee Downtowns program are eligible for this grant, and our State of TN program mentors are encouraging our town to apply. In addition to visiting the new website, look for walking tour maps to appear at business locations around town later this month, and watch for street pole signage reflecting our new branding to go up along Colwyn!
Additional details regarding DIG project ideas and next steps to further our tourism- and downtown improvement-related efforts are included in the attached report. All DIG details are available on the webpage Downtown Improvement Grant Program (tn.gov) We again invite you to participate in any/all DIG project activities, and we welcome your creative and constructive thoughts and ideas! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to town officials or Guardiansofthegap@gmail.com if you’re interested in having a conversation about, or contributing to, this next exciting project!
With many thanks for the input and feedback we have received over the last two years, we again thank you for your support of this creative and fun project. Now go tell everyone you know to come and “Explore Our More!”
Yours sincerely,
The TN Downtowns Steering Committee
Kimberly Kotlar
Tony Maxwell
Bradley Smiddy
Natalie Sweet