(KAIR)--A more than $200,000 grant has been awarded to a downtown Atchison location along Atchison’s renovated Commercial Street shopping district.

According to a release, announcement of the $250,000 Community Development Block Grant for 526 Commercial Street is made by the City of Atchison, in partnership with Blackstone Properties.

According to the release, issued by the City, the grant comes through the Commercial Rehabilitation Category, with the 526 Commercial Street property including three currently vacant storefronts, facing Commercial Street, “as well as a 5,400 square-foot second floor that has been vacant for decades.”

Ethan Hausmann, a representative of Blackstone Properties, in the release, said the group is “excited to bring premium commercial retail space to the heart of downtown Atchison and this grant helps make that vision possible."

According to the release, the grant “will fund a new roof, restoration/replacement of windows, masonry and foundation work, lead paint/asbestos abatement, and the installation of an elevator to benefit future businesses at 526 Commercial Street in downtown Atchison.”

The release explains that “the purpose of the Commercial Rehabilitation grant is two-fold: to help building owners renovate downtown commercial buildings for the benefit of an existing or new business; and to address slum and blight conditions.

Kansas typically awards just four Commercial Rehabilitation projects statewide each year.

According to the release, “as part of a continued focus on supporting downtown redevelopment, the City of Atchison published notice nearly two years ago seeking property owners eligible to receive CDBG-CR funding.

Blackstone Properties was the only eligible respondent to that public notice.”