PHOTO #1: Keep Victoria Beautiful received a $3,000 grant from Keep Texas Beautiful to fund the replanting of flowerbeds at 700 Main Center.
PHOTO #2: This traffic island near the Utility Billing Office at 700 Main Center is barren after Winter Storm Uri.
PHOTO #3: Keep Victoria Beautiful will use the grant it received from Keep Texas Beautiful to fund the planting of new, colorful flowers in this bed near the Convention & Visitors Bureau at 700 Main Center.
PHOTO #4: The soon-to-be-replanted flowerbeds at 700 Main Center will include a variety of colorful plants, including firebushes similar to these ones at City Hall.
Ever since Winter Storm Uri chilled and killed plant life throughout Victoria in February, visitors to 700 Main Center—more than 6,300 residents and out-of-towners each month—have been greeted by sparse or barren flowerbeds when they go to pay their water bills, visit the Convention & Visitors Bureau or take care of other City-related business.
These beds will be blooming with color by the end of the year after Keep Victoria Beautiful applied for and received a $3,000 Rebuilding Texas Fund Grant from Keep Texas Beautiful.
The Rebuilding Texas Fund, which was launched in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey, helps Keep Texas Beautiful affiliates to rebuild after natural disasters. This year’s grants were funded by Keep America Beautiful through its Community Resiliency and Restoration Fund.
Following the trend of recent beautification projects throughout Victoria, the City of Victoria’s Community Appearance Division will replant the beds with brighter and more colorful plants than before, including crepe myrtle, oleander, dwarf firebushes, aloe and yucca. The project also includes irrigation upgrades, which will help to support the variety of plants, as well as red mulch and edging to finish the beds’ new look.
Keep Victoria Beautiful was revived and incorporated into the City of Victoria government in 2019. The organization’s nonprofit status makes it eligible for a wide variety of grants.
“Victoria has many small public areas like these flowerbeds that may need only a little work to make a big difference in our community’s appearance,” said Christy Youker, City of Victoria beautification coordinator. “We’ve set a goal to expand the number of grants that we apply for, and we already have other pending applications that we hope will lead to more good news.”
To learn more about Keep Victoria Beautiful, visit www.victoriatx.gov/kvb or follow Keep Victoria Beautiful on Facebook.