City of West Monroe wins LMA Community Achievement Award

 The City of West Monroe was recently recognized by the Louisiana Municipal Association as a winner in the annual Community Achievement Awards for the City’s efforts to revitalize Downtown West Monroe. 
 

West Monroe was presented with the award at the LMA Annual Convention recently held in Baton Rouge. The Community Achievement Awards recognize the achievements of municipalities over the past year in four main categories – Community Development, Economic Development, Basic Services and Technology and Connectivity. 
 

The City of West Monroe received the LMA Community Achievement Award in the category of Community Development for cities with a population between 10,000 and 25,000. The Community Development award recognizes outstanding achievements during the 2020 calendar year in public transportation, citizen participation, public buildings, main street improvements, development plans, beautification and others. 
 

The City of West Monroe was recognized for its revitalization efforts in Downtown West Monroe that included earning Louisiana Main Street status in 2020 and completing the Downtown West Monroe Streetscape Master Plan. 
 

The City of West Monroe adopted a vacant property ordinance for those properties in Downtown West Monroe that are not in use. West Monroe became the first Louisiana municipality to adopt such an ordinance. Since the ordinance was put into place, 19 vacant properties have either changed ownership, are under construction or have been put back into commerce with tenants. 

Since revitalization efforts began, several new businesses have moved to the downtown area. The district now has more than 70 businesses including boutiques, specialty shops, spas and salons and food and drink venues. 
 

The completion of the Downtown West Monroe Master Plan has led the City of West Monroe to partner with the Downtown West Monroe Revitalization Group to develop a capital campaign to engage the public in the development of resources to implement many of the projects identified in the master plan. 
 

West Monroe Mayor Staci Mitchell said the progress made so far in downtown West Monroe is the culmination of years of hard work from not only the City of West Monroe but from individuals and nonprofit organizations such as the Downtown West Monroe Revitalization Group. 
 

There are plans for continued growth and progress to be made in Downtown West Monroe that include large-scale infrastructure improvement projects to the streetscape such as underground utilities, new sidewalks and crosswalks and bicycle lanes. Plans are also being developed for public access to the Ouachita River for recreational usage such as kayaking and canoeing. 
 

For more information about Downtown West Monroe, contact Main Street Director Adrienne LaFrance-Wells at (318) 396-2600 or alafrance@westmonroe.la.gov. Updates about the downtown area can be found at www.facebook.com/downtownwmrg