HARRISONBURG, Va – The City of Harrisonburg announced Wednesday that it was selected to receive up to 130-thousand dollars in grant funding that will be used to rebuild a corridor connecting the Northeast Neighborhood to the city’s downtown.

In a release, communications director Mike Parks said that Harrisonburg was one of 15 cities nationwide chosen for the Community Connectors funding through the organization Smart Growth America.

These projects will receive grants of up to $130,000 to build local capacity to co-design projects alongside impacted communities to advance new transportation infrastructure projects that repair damage from divisive infrastructure.

The Community Connectors program will take place over the next two years and features a learning exchange this November in Atlanta, GA and links local leaders to experts and other cities attempting to accomplish similar objectives in reconnecting communities.

The proposal was first presented to city council on June 27th, when Public Works Planner Jakob Zumfelde (zum-FELL-dee) said this wasn’t a typical grant application.

The new corridor aims to undo the Northeast Neighborhood’s disconnection from downtown that resulted from “urban renewal” projects during the last century.