$250K grant will help Holley businesses with building projects

State funding includes $15K for streetscape

Photo by Tom Rivers – The fountain at Holley’s Public Square, originally erected in 1914, could be upgraded with some of $15,000 targeted for streetscape improvements in Holley.

HOLLEY Contractors will soon be at work at several Public Square sites in Holley, making improvements on buildings from more than a century ago.

The village last December was awarded a $250,000 Main Street grant from the state, which provides matching money for building projects in the downtown.

Dan and Monica Seeler are doing the most extensive project, turning the former Tagg’s Tavern into a steak and seafood restaurant.

Other building owners are tackling projects. Jonathan’s Pastry Shop and Café will have a new façade. Lisa’s Dance Boutique is replacing second-floor windows and repointing some of the roof. VP Supply is working on a vestibule for its Geddes Street building. Nancy Penna may also renovate apartments on Thomas Street.

The projects will give the downtown area a big facelift, and may encourage other building owners to invest and improve their sites, said David Dill, Holley’s deputy mayor.

“It’s going to make that end of the Square look really nice,” he said.

Holley also has $15,000 from the grant for streetscape improvements. Village officials are considering using that money to refurbish the fountain, built in 1914, and add new benches. Dill said the village is open to ideas for spending that money.

Holley also also has been awarded a $30,000 state grant for records retention. The grant will fund scanning many of Holley’s paper documents into digital files. That includes board minutes, payroll records, and birth and death records. The paperwork goes back many decades.