A state grant of $25,000 will help to renovate the former Stevensville Post Office into a new office for a graphic design company.

Stevensville Village Manager Kacey Dominguez tells us Applied Arts, which does commercial design, is moving into the vacant building at 2797 Kimmel Street and has been awarded the grant through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Match on Main program. The village applied for the grant on behalf of the company.

“They’re planning on completely renovating the inside and some of the outside to match kind of their creative aesthetic to be their headquarters,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez says the building, constructed in 1963, most recently housed Black Arsenal, a gun shop, but it’s been empty since 2022. She’s glad a national business is now breathing new life into the property.

“It’s a big boost to our downtown business community. We have a lot of professional services down there, and this will just add to that. Being the national headquarters for Applied Arts, that will draw people from both clients and staff from all over the country for meetings and different things in Stevensville.”

Dominguez says work on the building should start soon.

Back in May, the village granted a 12-year Commercial Redevelopment Act tax abatement to Applied Arts as it moves to the area. Applied Arts CEO Tyson Thorne says the company is thrilled to bring its headquarters to Stevensville.