Resources Available

The Laramie Main Street Program offers several incentive programs – loans, grants, and design assistance – to encourage thoughtful investment in downtown buildings and businesses.  We also provide information: on how to make investments in ways that reinforce the district’s scale and character; on downtown market niches and needs; and on business development and training.    

Please contact us for more information on any of these programs, or to share your ideas on other resources you would like to see.

Financial Assistance

Financial Resources from the Wyoming Business Council

The Wyoming Business Council offers a wide range of financial tools and services local businesses.  Six different loan programs are offered. Included in these loan programs are the Wyoming Partnership Bridge loan program, an economic disaster loan program, and the Wyoming Main Street loan program detailed below .

In addition, the Wyoming business council offers bonds, references to private equity investors, assistance in accessing federal aid, and a trade show incentive program.

A brochure with more information regarding these programs can be found here.  Additional details can be found on the Wyoming Business Council website.

WY Main Street Loan Participation

The Wyoming Business Council can participate with a local lender on a loan to a building owner for building improvements to maintain the structure's historical charactor.  The state's portion of the participation may be up to 75% of the loan (maximum $100,000) in a shared note and collateral position with the local lender.
A brochure with more information regarding the Wyoming Main Street Loan program can be found here.

    For more information regarding the Wyoming low interest loan program, including applications

     a fact sheet, visit their website.

Rehabilitation Tax Credits

The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program is one of the nation's most successful and cost-effective community revitalization programs.  The program fosters private sector rehabilitation of historic buildings and promotes economic revitalization.  It also provides a strong alternative to government ownership and management of such properties.  Your building may be eligible for historic preservation tax credits if:
• The 20% rehabilitation tax credit equals 20% of the amount spent in a certified rehabilitation of a certified historic structure.
• The 10% rehabilitation tax credit equals 10% of the amount spent to rehabilitation a non-historic building built before 1936.

For more information, applications, and assistance on historic preservation tax credit projects, contact the Laramie Main Street Program or go to: http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/TPS/tax/.

Training Opportunities

Destination BootCamp

Six downtown Laramie businesses returned this September from a Longmont, Colorado based business improvement “Destination BootCamp”, where they learned hundreds of new methods to bring more customers and tourists to Laramie. The businesses that attended were: Big Hoss Mountain Sports, Brown & Gold Outlet, Coal Creek Coffee Roastery, Copper Kettle, In Sheep’s Clothing, and Medicine Bow Natural Foods & Deli. They were among thirty-three business owners from across North America who attended the two and one-half day, twenty-hour workshop. These businesses are the first downtown businesses from Laramie to ever attend Destination BootCamp.

The two and one-half day “Destination BootCamp”, created by marketing consultant Jon Schallert, teaches independent business owners how to reposition their businesses as “consumer destinations”. According to Schallert, a business using his “Destination Business” strategies can compete effectively with superstores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot and significantly impact a local community. It is not uncommon for destination businesses to create change in an entire city, by drawing consumers from miles around, from outside the immediate marketplace of a community.

After returning from the BootCamp, Leo Pueblitz of Big Hoss Mountain Sports says “with the principles we learned at the BootCamp, we will be able to satisfy more of our customers needs and make purchasing our products a much more enjoyable, fun experience. Additionally, we will be attracting more visitors and tourists from outside Laramie. With what we’ve learned, there’s no reason we can’t attract more consumers to Laramie from hundreds of miles away.”

Schallert’s Destination BootCamp is held annually in Orlando, Florida and also recently in Longmont, CO. Schallert has worked with independent business owners since 1983, speaks to thousands every year, and is the President of The Schallert Group, Inc., Sorrento, Florida. One newspaper called Schallert “the marketing guru rooting for the retail underdogs”. For more information on the experiences of the downtown businesses at the BootCamp, you can visit Schallert’s website at http://www.DestinationBootCamp.com.

Information & Guides

Design Guidelines

Design is a major component of the Main Street revitalization effort and is aimed at enhancing the overall physical image of the downtown business district.  Many features contribute to this image. Individual buildings – storefronts, signs, window displays and facades as a whole – generally establish the character of the downtown. These features are what make each town unique. Maintaining a design scheme for the downtown business district can enhance its existing physical assets and minimize its detractions. Design can serve to improve the district’s appearance, unify diverse elements, strengthen downtown’s image as a cohesive area, and provide balance between variation and consistency. Because the physical features of the downtown business district are key components of Laramie’s overall historic and cultural fabric, they should be preserved and maintained for future generations. The Design Committee, therefore, has developed a set of guidelines to aid business and property owners in the Laramie downtown district when considering making physical changes or improvements to their properties.

The Design Guidelines for Historic Downtown Laramie can be downloaded here.

Or, if you'd prefer to read a brochure summarizing the guidelines, click here.

Listing of Local Contractors

Laramie Main Street maintains an incomplete listing of local contractors and engineers for construction, restoration and other large projects. If you offer services that apply to this listing and would like to be added, please contact us with your information and a business description. The current list was last updated as of June 02, 2008, and is available here:

Business Listing [147KB PDF]

For more information, please contact Laramie Main Street at 742-2212.

NPS Preservation Briefs for Working with Historic Buildings

For over 25 years, the National Park Service’s Technical Preservation Services has helped home owners, preservation professionals, organizations, and government agencies by publishing easy-to read guidance on preserving, rehabilitating and restoring historic buildings.  The first Preservation Brief was published in 1975 and since then, over 40 more have been added to the series.  A complete listing of the briefs, along with a database organized by preservation issues, is available at:

http://www.cr.nps.gov/HPS/tps/briefs/presbhom.htm

The Laramie Main Street Program also has paper copies of many of these reports available for photocopying or loan at our office.  Call 742-2212.

313 South 2nd St, Suite B     Phone: (307) 742-2212    Email Us    Contact Us

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