Community spirit is normally a hard thing to measure. But Belmond provided a handy yardstick in October of 1997 for the Commercial - Service District when the town’s citizens formed the Business Development Committee (BDC) of the Belmond Area Chamber of Commerce. The Retail Assistance Program (RAP) has been in place since the fall of 1997. The purpose of the RAP fund is to remodel existing store structures to conform with new/expanding business requirements and City of Belmond building codes.

Belmond business buildings are not the only structures that reflect a “new millennium” look in Belmond. The most striking is Belmond’s unique arcade system which covers the sidewalks of nearly the entire Main Street business district. In addition to the Main Street district, Belmond has two malls: the Pioneer Mall and the True Value Mall.