Plans to spruce up downtown Nixa in the works

NIXA, Mo. (KY3) - Breathing new life into an older area.

That’s what Nixa City leaders are hoping to do by revamping the downtown area.

“It is exciting, but it’s scary,” said Kenny Nguyen.

Nguyen owns a Cantonese restaurant off Main Street in downtown Nixa.

“I know that this area is going to improve eventually, but for right now we’re going to have a lot of growing pains around this area,” he said.

Nguyen says the COVID-19 pandemic and current road construction have really taken a toll on his business.

“The way we ran our business, we make a certain amount a year, and now the number’s not there,” explained Nguyen.

He says he’s eager for things to turn around.

“I understand, you know, everybody’s trying to fix up the whole downtown and that’s what we’re trying to do too, eventually,” he said.

“We brought them in to help people re-imagine what the downtown area of Nixa can be,” said the Director of Planning and Development for the city of Nixa Scott Godbey.

He says there’s a plan in the works that could help draw business back to Nguyen’s restaurant.

“We’re trying to start small with the downtown area. We really want that to be the gathering area for the citizens of Nixa,” he said.

Officials worked with the Better Block SGF organization to install an experiment in the downtown area consisting of elements such as vegetation, artwork, and enhanced pedestrian signage to create more of an outdoor scene. Godbey says it’s all part of the bigger picture to revitalize the area off of Main Street and Mount Vernon.

“We’re just going to keep pushing it forward until we get the downtown master plan done and then just see where that takes us,” he said.

Nguyen said, “I understand that for every great something’s got to be sacrificed. My business is one of those things. You have to take some loss to get gain.”

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