Quonset Hut Awarded Visit Canton Destination Enhancement Grant for Community Space Project
Quonset Hut Awarded Visit Canton Destination Enhancement Grant for Community Space Project
Quonset Hut has been awarded a Visit Canton Recovery and Destination Development Grant for a Community Space Project in our existing building at 3775 Cleveland Avenue in Canton!
Visit Canton, the Stark County Convention & Visitors’ Bureau (CVB), has awarded $305,220 in Destination Enhancement Grants, and we are honored to be one of the recipients. The CVB made grant dollars available to fund projects in Stark County that are in concert with Visit Canton’s mission to attract visitors and increase visitor spending. Grantees were encouraged to partner in strategic ways between multiple organizations, businesses, and communities. Applicants could request up to $50,000, with committed matching funds required, to support projects that commence in 2023. The complete Destination Enhancement Grant criteria and application process are available to view here.
With the funds that we received from the Destination Enhancement Grant awards, Quonset Hut will renovate a currently vacant and unused portion of our building for community space. When we renovated our building for our new location, we were not able to complete interior renovations on a 1,900 square foot area that previously housed fast-food franchises. Our hope is to bring this unused space into operation once again, providing community event space in partnership with other local businesses and nonprofits and improving our corner of the neighborhood even more. In an era increasingly dominated by online communication, this brick-and-mortar store continues to see the incredible value of bringing people together in person to connect, learn, and grow.
We took initial steps in this direction by partnering with local company Elbow Grease Cleaning Solutions to prepare the interior space to allow for community events this year, but it is still in rough condition.
Our initial events have provided us with a strong sense of the value and potential impact of the space:
- On July 10, 2022, we hosted our first event in the space - a 710 plant-based wellness educational day in collaboration with Green Compassion Network (GCN) in North Canton and Clean Remedies in Akron.
- On September 17, we hosted a Dog Days of Summer event in collaboration with The Stark County Humane Society, Green Gruff, and Grooming by Heidi in Canton.
- On October 22, we hosted our first Alternative Wellness Fair. We once again partnered with GCN and Clean Remedies, but also added Soulful Sounds Vibrational Sound Therapy in Canton, Reader of the Akashic Records Juanita Mazzarella in North Canton, Sacra Natura of Canton, and The Shapeshifting Maiden in Canton.
We hope these first three events are just the beginning of regular use of this space for community events in partnership with other area businesses and nonprofits. Thanks to Hartman Custom Construction, we hope to have renovations complete in spring 2023.
“We are grateful to partner with Visit Canton to enhance Quonset Hut as a destination,” shared Quonset Hut co-owner Matt Hisrich. “Completing the rehabilitation of this building that Mark and Robin Kratzer have poured so much into – and doing so in a way that carries on the Quonset Hut spirit – is an incredible opportunity.”
To find out more information about our project and follow along with the progress, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
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