PCDC Grant Helps Launch Building Restoration in Downtown Bertrand

Bertrand residents may be getting healthier, and a historic building will be restored in downtown Bertrand thanks to a PCDC GO! DREAM program matching grant.

Michelle Mcnierney, who moved to Bertrand with her family in June, plans to open a yoga studio/flex space called Studio 607 at 607 Minor Avenue in downtown Bertrand.

The PCDC $10,000 DREAM grant will help fund a new roof and replace gutters and windows to prevent future leaks on the 100-plus-year-old building. GO! DREAM grants help with first impressions, exterior remediation and code compliance issues to help restore and improve buildings in the downtown core of Phelps County communities.

“It is extremely helpful,” Mcnierney said of the PCDC grant. “It’s especially helpful since we just moved here and bought a house. Restoring the building costs a bit more to have it done right. Because we have that extra help with the grant, we can make sure we have it done right.”

Her husband, Jason, is a contractor and will do the work on the project.

The Mcnierneys moved to Bertrand in June from the Denver, Colo., area, with their three younger children who are 13, 11 and 2. They have two adult children who still live in Colorado.

“We were looking for a calmer, healthier, safer environment to raise our three kids in so we moved to Bertrand,” Mcnierney said.

They discovered Bertrand while taking an RV trip to escape the COVID-19 restrictions in the city.

“The people in Bertrand are super nice and helpful,” Mcnierney said. “They want to do things together like play bingo together and play golf together. It just has that sense of community. And, there like 10 churches out here so that provides a feeling of safety, too.”

Mcnierney said neighbors brought over meals and baked goodies when they bought their house and helped them with mowing and getting the family plugged into things going on in the community.

Mcnierney has been teaching yoga since 2016. She is a holistic practitioner and life coach and has a background in nutrition as well as restorative and trauma-informed yoga practices.

“I love teaching yoga to anybody who will give it a try because of the benefits it brings to every aspect of your whole body and your life,” she said.

She is already teaching some yoga classes at the Bertrand Town Hall until her building is ready. She will offer yoga classes at various times of the day and evening, including pajama yoga where participants wear their pajamas and bring a pillow to calm down before going to sleep at night. She will offer yoga for those with limited movement as well as yoga for those who are seeking a more challenging workout.

Mcnierney appreciates the attitude of Bertrand residents in wanting to maintain their town and keep it looking nice.

“We just figured we needed to do something to support the community and be in the community, too,” she said. “My youngest is almost 2 so we are going to be here a while.”

She was inspired by the Jeremy Hansen art gallery also in downtown Bertrand and how the Hansens restored that building into an art studio.

She said the building at 607 Minor has a lot of character and wide-open space that she hopes can also be used for other purposes to benefit the community.

For more information about the PCDC GO! DREAM grants and other grants, visit the website at https://www.phelpscountyne.com/business-services/go!-programs/?cat=go  or call PCDC at (308) 995-4148.