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LUFKIN — When Sally Alvis learned about Texas’ cultural districts program, she knew she wanted the designation for this East Texas town.
Created by state lawmakers in 2005, the cultural districts program helps cities promote their arts, especially to tourists, and in turn stimulates economic development. The designation opens up hundreds of thousands of grant dollars and ideally drives up sales tax revenue, property appraisals and foot traffic.
For Lufkin, a former industrial town seeking to rebuild itself in a new era of technology, Alvis hoped the designation could help revitalize downtown and lure new businesses.
After years of effort,…
