Mill Race Arts & Preservation, Inc. Mission

Activities (in order of importance)

Promote the Mill Race Village
Mill Race Village Arts & Preservation has been and will continue to concentrate on general promotion of The Mill Race Village in order to attract homeowners and visitors. The Mill Race Village has a variety of small shops, housed in newly restored historic buildings that need to attract visitors/shoppers in order to survive. The shops have created a new element in the neighborhood, making it feel safer, cleaner and more interesting with a comfortable mix of residential and commercial, promoting the “live downtown” theme so important in New Jersey today.

Some things MRVA&P have accomplished to date:

• Promoting The Mill Race Village to possible home owners and tourists in order to help the existing artists and merchants in the Village survive and entice new artists to live and open shops in the Village. To date, efforts have primarily been grass roots marketing through opportunities provided with The South Jersey Cultural Alliance and Delaware River Region Tourism Council. A rack card was produced and distributed via CTM brochure distribution in the Philadelphia area in 2003 as part of a cooperative grant through the New Jersey Office of Tourism, a radio advertising spot on KYW News Radio was secured as part of a South Jersey Cultural Alliance promotion and the web site www.MillRaceVillage.com was developed. To initiate this program approximately 100 volunteer hours were required.
  
• Promoting the Village to the gay and lesbian community through promotions in the Philadelphia Gay News and Philadelphia Tourism market. The gay and lesbian communities are able to embrace an “area in transition” more readily than heterosexual couples due to in part their lack of concern over the school system, since a majority of gay couples choose to remain childless. Also, as visitors, gay and lesbian couples traditionally have more expendable income than the average couple does, do to dual professional careers. During the year 2003, MRVA&P ran an ad campaign with the assistance of a NJ Office of Tourism grant to attract this demographic. To date this activity has required approximately 50 volunteer hours.
  
• Began correspondence with the Mount Holly Neighborhood Preservation Program and Regional Contribution Agreement program in order to promote grants available to low and moderate income residents for home renovations and to use this as a tool to attract new home owners who are interested in the Arts & Cultural development in the Village. The coordinator of the RCA program has become a MRVA&P Board member this year. To date MRVA&P Board members promote these grant programs by word of mouth and guide interested artists and possible homeowners to the respective offices at Mount Holly Township. This activity has utilized approximately 60 volunteer hours.
  
• Assist the merchants and residents of The Mill Race Village with organization and promotion of two annual events (The Fantasy Tea & Art Faire and The Witches Ball) to attract visitors and allow them to experience The Mill Race Village in a festive and interesting manner and hopefully attract them to visit again or consider living in the village. This activity has required 90 volunteer hours to date. Both events are now utilized as fundraisers for MRVA&P.
  
• Become knowledgeable and promote the New Jersey “Upstairs/Downtown” loan program. The MRVA&P secretary has met with the local loan officer to gain details of the new program guidelines and one Mill Race Village developer has taken part in the program. To date efforts have been to become knowledgeable in the program and then promote it through word of mouth and grass roots promotions with the many contacts MRVA&P Board members have with potential developers and home buyers with a business interest, such as an art studio.
  
  

The Mill Race Village is the oldest community in Mount Holly, made primarily of 19th century wood frame houses. At one time this was a thriving village of low and middle class workers enjoying a close proximity to the central business district, tree lined streets, corner stores and the Rancocas Creek which, along with The Mill Race Waterway, make the Mill Race Village an island. However, over the last 40 years this neighborhood has deteriorated greatly. Housing stock is dilapidated, drug related activity has further depleted the quality of life, homeownership and home preservation is at a low point as well.

It is the goal of Mill Race Village Arts & Preservation Inc. (MRVA&P) to promote the Village as a fun and safe place to live and visit by promoting the existing and future Village artist and merchants, festivals, shows, educational programs and activities. Also, to promote awareness of cost efficient means to restore or preserve historic buildings in the Village, promote existing and future grant and assistance programs which offer low and moderate income residents funding for home improvements, promote the Village as a new and emerging neighborhood where Art, Culture and History are prevalent, promote the Village as a place for low and moderate income artists to live and work, assist new homeowners, artists and entrepreneurs in renovating buildings by sharing knowledge and providing information about how to renovate a building on a budget and how to use the township grant and loan programs (Neighborhood Preservation Program, Regional Contribution Assistance and Urban Enterprise Zone).