A bigger, better center for Powell Valley Recycling has drawn a step closer to becoming reality.

On Friday, Powell Valley Recycling officials received word from the U.S. Department of Argiculture that they have received $195,000 in funding to help move the group into a new facility.

Combined with a previous $50,000 grant from the Moyer Foundation, Powell Valley Recycling now has $245,000 on hand to move forward with plans to purchase and renovate the former Park County Road and Bridge shop, located across from Powell’s west water tower.

The most desired attribute of the road and bridge shop for Powell Valley Recycling is its larger size; the 7,200-square-foot shop is more than double Powell Valley Recycling’s current building on North Hamilton Street.

“We have totally outgrown where we’re at,” said Mary Jo Decker, manager of the non-profit recycling organization, on Monday.

Citing the benefits of recycling, the Park County Commission had agreed last year to sell the shop to Powell Valley Recycling at a discounted rate of $140,000 — $100,000 less than the facility’s appraised value. The hope is to eventually make Powell’s recycling center the hub for the region’s recyclables.

To purchase the building, Powell Valley Recycling had sought USDA funding through the department’s Rural Utilities Service.

Of the $195,000 worth of funding awarded, $127,000 will be a 3 percent interest loan and $68,000 will be a grant that does not need to be paid back, Decker said.

The county road and bridge shop became vacant earlier this month when the department moved to a new, expanded Powell shop on Lane 9 West.

Decker said the county’s old shop will need to be renovated before housing Powell Valley Recycling. Some of those renovations will include putting in a restroom that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, bringing in three-phase power for the balers, installing a floor drain and adding new doors.

Decker said she did not have a timeline for when Powell Valley Recycling would move into the shop.

“At this point we are working on getting the title to the land,” she said.

Decker said Powell Valley Recycling hopes to close the deal with the county by the end of January, if not sooner.