The city will receive a total of $3.1 million in annual installments over six years from the state’s Neighborhood Partnership Program to employ a main street manager for the downtown — and to put into practice throughout the city some recommendations from Altoona’s new comprehensive plan.

The grant money comes from contributions made by M&T Bank, Sheetz, Blair Image Elements, Curry Supply Holdings and NPC Companies in exchange for those firms receiving tax credits that can amount to as much as 80% of the value of the contributions, according to City Manager Christopher McGuire and Steve McKnight, CEO of the Altoona Blair County Development Corporation.

Getting a main street manager will help “elevate” the development renaissance that is already happening downtown, which is at a “tipping point,” said Mayor Matt Pacifico.

He said he has wanted the city to have a main street manager for the last decade.

The main street manager’s duties will include recruiting businesses for the downtown district and supporting businesses there already; supporting building development projects, especially those with commercial spaces on the ground floors and housing units on the upper floors; organizing events, including seasonal festivals and markets; attracting producers of downtown events; being a “conduit” for downtown interests to City Hall; and taking care of the city’s website and social media feeds, according to McGuire.

In addition to funding the city manager position, the grant would fund facade improvements, streetscape projects, planting of greenery and installation of public trash receptacles and wayfinding signs; and would support neighborhood quality-of-life initiatives — as well as helping with site acquisitions and demolition of blighted properties as well as providing subsidies to encourage development projects for the Redevelopment Authority — all things that are recommended by the comprehensive plan, Pacifico said.

With help from information provided by other municipalities that have main street managers, McGuire plans to create a job description by the end of the year and, with help from Human Resources Director Christina Notarfrancesco, fill the position by March, McGuire said.

The salary is likely to be between $55,000 and $60,000 a year, in keeping with main street managers’ salaries in similar cities, McGuire said.

The grant carries no obligation for the city to continue employing the main street manager at the conclusion of its six-year duration, according to Pacifico, but the city will decide whether to retain the person hired for the position — or whether to continue funding the position at all.

Starting at the beginning of this year, city officials worked with ABCD, the State Department of Community and Economic Development and the City of Johnstown in putting together an application for the grant, which will provide $522,500 annually during the term of the arrangement, according to Pacifico.

Businesses solicited for the contributions were “very responsive and supportive,” the mayor said.

The Neighborhood Partnership Program (NPP) is one of five main components of the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP). The others are a specific component that is known as the NAP, the Special Program Priorities (SPP), the Charitable Food Program (CFP) and the Enterprise Zone Program (EZP).

Altoona’s allocation this week from the Shapiro administration was among $70 million in NAP funding allocated altogether, according to an ABCD news release.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.