CEDC renews, expands storefront grants

A popular program that helped improve 13 buildings on Kearney Street has been revived and expanded by the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation.

The CEDC’s Façade Grant program was put on hiatus last fall after a successful four-year run on Clarendon’s “main street,” but the CEDC Board approved new Façade Grant guidelines during its regular meeting Monday evening, April 1, after seeing increasing interest in the downtown area.

The basic concept of the program remains unchanged, providing 50-50 matching grants, up to a maximum of $2,000 per project, for improvements done to commercial storefronts. The difference is that the program is no longer limited to a three-block stretch of Kearney Street.

Under the new guidelines, the program will now consider properties located in the city’s entire Central Business District, an area defined by city planning maps created in 2002. Generally, that includes properties facing Kearney Street from First to Fifth streets as well as properties facing Sully Street from First to Fifth and properties on the west side of Gorst Street from Second Street (US 287) to Fourth Street.0

Projects eligible for consideration could be anything from a coat of paint to new signage to a complete rehabilitation of a storefront.

One very important change, however, is that the CEDC Board will no longer consider applications for projects that have already been completed. Property owners interested in Façade Grant funds must get approval before beginning their projects.

Projects approved for funding must also now be completed within six months from the time of the award, and the CEDC Board, at its discretion, can award one six-month extension to that requirement.

Several stipulations of the grant remain the same. 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.

Additionally, all business and personal property taxes of the property owners and tenants must be current at the Donley Appraisal District, and projects must have the proper permits and conform to the City of Clarendon’s codes, ordinances, and comprehensive plans.

Façade Grants are reimbursement grants and are funded when the project is completed and upon submission of proper receipts to the CEDC.

Properties that have previously received a Façade Grant may apply for an additional grant after the beginning of the third quarter of the fiscal year following their first award, but preference will be given to new applicants.

The CEDC will mail grant information to eligible property owners by the end of April. Those interested in the grants can pick up an application from CEDC Executive Director Chandra Eggemeyer at the Clarendon Visitor Center inside the Mulkey Theatre at 110 S. Kearney Street.

Since the Façade Grant Program began in 2008, the CEDC has approved 15 applications, funded 14 projects, and awarded $16,930.60 to property owners on Kearney Street.