EDC votes to expand storefront program

 The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation last week expanded its Façade Grant Program to include businesses on the US 287 corridor in the city.

Sixteen recipients have received a total of more than $19,000 since the program began in 2008. Those improvements were made to fourteen properties in Clarendon’s Central Business District, and CEDC board members said last week it was time to open the program up to the main highway through town.

CEDC board members emphasized that businesses interested in funds from the Façade Grant Program must have their grant application before the project begins. Funding will be considered on a case by case basis and first come, first served as long as budgeted funds will allow.

The CEDC Façade Grant Program provides fifty-fifty matching grants up to a maximum of $2,000 per project for properties within the Central Business District and along US 287 inside the city.

If the total of a project costs $1,500, the CEDC would contribute $750. A $4,000 project would be eligible for the maximum of $2,000, and any projects costing more than $4,000 would also only be eligible for the maximum of $2,000.

Projects eligible for consideration could be anything from a simple coat of paint to a complete rehabilitation of a storefront. The CEDC board will consider the project’s overall impact and other factors when considering an application. The funds will be paid to successful applicants when invoices are submitted for the completed project.

CEDC funds cannot be used for labor costs if the owner, the tenant, or the applicant’s employees do the work. In that case, the grant would cover supplies and materials only.

For more information, contact Chandra Eggemeyer at the Clarendon Visitor Center inside the Mulkey Theatre or call 874-2421.