![\"Kansas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1761064950571.jpeg\")
Kansas Department of Commerce, File photo<\/p>\nKansas Department of Commerce, File photo<\/p>\n
Kansas Department of Commerce<\/p>\n
TOPEKA\u00a0\u2013 Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced the Kansas Department of Commerce has awarded $750,000 in\u00a0Downtown Revive & Thrive\u00a0grants to support nine building renovation projects across Kansas. When matched with more than $286,000 in local contributions, a total investment of over $1 million will be used to create spaces for business incubators.<\/p>\n
\u201cRural Kansas has plenty of historic and underused buildings that have potential to create new economic opportunities for communities,\u201d\u00a0Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. \u201cThrough\u00a0Revive & Thrive, we\u2019re able to take established, unused infrastructure and give our rural entrepreneurs a place to flourish and bring their visions to life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Demand is rising throughout Kansas for flexible spaces that allow entrepreneurs to test products, develop commercial concepts and pilot new ventures. In response, Commerce launched the\u00a0Revive and Thrive\u00a0program to support those endeavors by transforming vacant and underutilized buildings into accessible, modern and sustainable workspaces.<\/p>\n
Revive and Thrive\u00a0awardees:<\/p>\n
Cimarron, Gray County, $95,090: Launch Level will be a flexible entrepreneurial hub that offers rural entrepreneurs\u2019 affordable access to branding, packaging, content creation and market testing. The space will feature incubation bays, a print and packaging lab, content studio and collaborative areas that drive foot traffic and support business growth.Lincoln Center, Lincoln County, $91,390: Lincoln\u2019s Shared Kitchen will operate as a licensed, turnkey commercial kitchen that allows food entrepreneurs to test concepts, launch catering businesses, and develop products with reduced financial risk. The space will support startup and scaling opportunities in a flexible environment.Luray, Russell County, $95,090: The Restored Pospishil Building will become the Luray Center for the Arts, featuring artist studios, pop-up vendor spaces, a gallery and a coffee bar. The space will support local artists, create jobs and attract visitors while strengthening downtown activity.Minneapolis, Ottawa County, $95,090: The project will bring a shared-use business incubator that includes a kitchen, retail and gathering space for entrepreneurs to test products and operate pop-ups. The collaborative environment will encourage innovation, increase foot traffic, and support ongoing downtown revitalization.Potwin, Butler County, $28,250: Station 85 will become a rural entrepreneurship hub combining a retail incubator, small-scale restaurant and food production space. The revitalized historic station will host multiple vendors, expand food access, and create new economic opportunities.Yates Center, Woodson County, $95,090: Waymire Marketplace will operate as an artisan-focused incubator featuring shared retail, pop-up space and small studios for makers and small-batch producers. The space will support product launches, business growth and increased downtown activity.Lebanon, Smith County, $78,294: The project will create a second-floor incubator and flexible workspace hub with offices, meeting space and shared business resources. The renovated space will support entrepreneurs, remote workers and small businesses while increasing downtown activity.Marion, Marion County, $85,853: The project will establish a co-working hub, meeting space and small business marketplace designed to support entrepreneurs and remote workers.Norton, Norton County, $85,853: The renovated building for the project will function as a flexible small-business incubator with multiple tenant spaces and an event area for markets and pop-ups. The space will provide affordable opportunities for entrepreneurs to test, launch and grow businesses.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Downtown Revive & Thrive\u00a0program is designed to support projects that repurpose existing infrastructure to create spaces and provide equipment for business incubators, pop-up retail and restaurants, and innovative concepts that drive growth and contribute to vibrancy in communities. The program is administered by the Office of Rural Prosperity of the Kansas Department of Commerce.<\/p>\n
To learn more about the\u00a0Downtown Revive and Thrive\u00a0program or view awarded projects, visit\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The program is one of many funding opportunities provided by the Department of Commerce that is aimed to support rural communities across the state. To learn more about grant opportunities, visit the Grants Calendar\u00a0here<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kansas Department of Commerce, File photo Kansas Department of Commerce TOPEKA\u00a0\u2013 Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":796451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[45,49,48,137],"class_list":["post-796450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entrepreneurship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}