The minipark proposed for Northampton's "Uptown Business District" on Main Street will receive a $65,000 boost.

Northampton Borough will receive the money via a state gaming grant, said borough Manager Gene Zarayko.

Zarayko said the $65,000 grant will be utilized to buy the vacant lot owned by Brian Kroope.

"We sent a letter to Mr. Kroope offering to pay $75,000 for the land," Zarayko said.

Decades ago, the lot housed a cotton goods store. The past few months the borough has made it a priority to secure the lot for the park.

The borough manager indicated the amount the borough offered Kroope for the land is based on the appraised value of the property.

"We have not yet received a reply from Mr. Kroope to our offer," Zarayko said.

Sandwiched in between Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church to the south and a coffee shop to the north, the property has no rear access. Years ago, it housed Kroope's Clothing & General Store. A fire destroyed the structure, which was then razed.

The minipark would have a gazebo, possibly a farmers market and seating for the public and occasional outdoor concerts, according to Zarayko.

Borough council has been considering the concept for months but the gaming grant has increased interest.

Borough officials hope the park will help businesses in the uptown business district.

The remaining $10,000 for the property acquisition, should Kroope agree, would be derived from a bond issue the borough is contemplating for several uses.

The uptown has been the beneficiary of various funding sources, grants and loans. The projects include an upgrade of the business district, paving, sidewalks with Victorian light posts and improvements at the Center Street municipal parking lot which included landscaping, paving and new lights.

The borough grant is only a small slice of $1.7 million in gambling money that will fund projects scattered across Northampton County. Gaming revenue from tables at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Paradise Township, Monroe County, is the source of the funding. Approval for the grants and disbursement was made by the Commonwealth Financing Authority.

The borough's gaming grant is the smallest of those awarded by the Commonwealth Financing Authority. A $450,000 grant was approved for a new interchange on Route 33 in Palmer Township, where a $32 million project will spur development on lands near the interchange.

Other grant awards include $440,000 for water and sewer lines for the uses of businesses at a Lower Nazareth Township Commercial Park, $400,000 to help build the Slate Belt Y in Pen Argyl, $120,814 to Bangor for a new borough building and $100,000 to the Nancy Run Fire Co for building renovations.