Munford's Veterans Plaza Is Starting to Reach Down the Street

Munford's Christmas tree will be lit at Veterans Plaza on December 5. A state grant announced in late October is meant to carry the plaza's sound and string lights into the surrounding blocks and to open part of Church Street to people on foot. Those plans build on years of work on downtown's buildings and on the plaza itself.

Fourteen buildings and a plaza

Veterans Plaza looks new, and it is. But the city traces it to work that began about eight years ago, when Mayor Dwayne Cole started turning a piece of downtown property into what became the plaza.

While the plaza was being planned, the mayor formed the Munford Downtown Development Commission, a volunteer group that set up a grant program to help downtown businesses with façade and infrastructure improvements. By the city's count, 14 properties have been improved with more than $450,000 in grant money. That averages to roughly $32,000 per building. The oldest of those buildings date to the 1920s, and the city says they kept their historic character as they were updated.

That storefront-by-storefront work drew statewide attention. At its Certificate of Merit ceremony on May 15, 2026, the Tennessee Historical Commission recognized Munford. According to the City of Munford, the award was a Commissioner's Special Commendation for Mayor Cole's work on the downtown business district.

A plaza with a full calendar in its first full year

Veterans Plaza, at 1483 Munford Ave., opened in summer 2025. Since then it has hosted farmers markets, concerts and other events. In 2026, its first full year of use, the plaza filled a schedule that ran from spring through the holidays:

• Spring Concert Series, April 11 to April 28. The March 2026 mayor's report listed Rock the Boat, Mud Flap Kings and Big Wheel for 7 p.m. Saturday shows. The series closed on Tuesday, April 28, at 6:30 p.m. with the Memphis Wind Symphony, directed by Barry Trobaugh, whom the report called "our very own."
• Mudflap King, August 21. This concert was moved from April 18 to a late-summer Friday from 7 to 10 p.m., with The Green Beetle, Rainbow Squeezed Lemonade and Ice Cream Tour selling food.
• Munford Farmers & Artisans Market. The June 13 session ran from 8 a.m. to noon with around 30 vendors selling produce, woodcrafts, baked goods and more.
• Veterans Day Program, November 11. The ceremony was scheduled for 2 to 3 p.m. on the plaza.
• Christmas Parade & Tree Lighting, December 5. The parade starts at 5 p.m., and the tree lighting follows right after.

The calendar shows how the plaza works today. Events happen on the plaza itself, and the rest of downtown sits around it. The new grant is aimed at that gap.

One of the two largest checks in the state's fall round

On October 28, 2026, Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter announced 14 Downtown Improvement Grant recipients, sharing more than $3.9 million in Rural Economic Opportunity funding. Munford's award of $350,000 tied with Etowah's for the largest in the round. Some of the other awards for comparison:

The Tennessee Municipal League also reported the round, noting that Etowah and Munford each received $350,000. Each recipient has to match 25% of its award. For Munford, that comes to $87,500 in city money on top of the state grant.

The city credits the Munford Downtown Development Commission with the application, saying the volunteer group showed both a need for more downtown improvement and the ability to carry out the projects. The commission had already managed 14 property improvements, so the state was funding a group with a record of finishing projects.

Projects designed to start at the plaza

The City of Munford's announcement lists three projects for the grant. All three start at Veterans Plaza and extend into the surrounding blocks:

1. A distributed downtown sound system linked to Veterans Plaza. The city says it would give visitors more places to take part in plaza events, so a concert could be heard beyond the plaza itself.
2. Canopy string lighting connecting Veterans Plaza with more of downtown, which the city says will also improve safety and visibility.
3. A small gathering space on Church Street, closed to vehicle traffic and open to the community.

At least half the grant, or $175,000 or more, has to go to façade improvements. The city and the commission say they have a list of downtown businesses that have expressed interest. Under the earlier program, 14 buildings shared more than $450,000. This round sets aside at least $175,000 for façades on top of that.

In the announcement, Mayor Cole thanked the commission and called the grant "one more step toward making Munford a destination place, a fun place of activities."

December 5 on the plaza

The tree will be lit on the plaza, and the evening runs from 5 to 7 p.m. The city's Christmas parade page has information for groups that want to take part. Veterans Plaza is at 1483 Munford Ave. City Hall is at 1397 Munford Ave., on the same street.

The storefronts around the plaza have hosted their own holiday events in past years. Last year, Mount Zion Bakery and Coffee Shop, whose address is 1492 Munford Ave., promoted a Downtown Munford Christmas Open House with the surrounding Downtown Munford Merchants on November 15 and 16, 2025. On Thanksgiving evening 2025, the bakery opened special hours and pointed shoppers to its neighbors Akins Clothing Co., at 44 N. Tipton St., and the Munford Giftery. The planned sound system and string lights are meant to connect the plaza with storefronts like these.

Downtown changes like these affect what a Munford address is worth, and we follow them block by block. If you own a home in or near Munford and want to know where it stands this season, 2 Rivers Realty LLC can help. Start with our Instant Home Valuation, then talk with a local broker who keeps track of what's changing downtown.