CEDC presents 15th storefront grant

A formerly vacant building will be open for business this month, thanks in part to a grant from the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation.

Brownlee Custom Boots and Big Texas Hair & Highlights has been renovating the front portion of the building located north of the Mulkey Theatre at 106 S. Kearney. The proprietor, Elaine Brownlee, builds handmade boots and will also operate a hair salon in part of the building.

Brownlee last week received the CEDC’s 15th façade grant for $132.61, representing half of the cost of new signage on the building. Brownlee said she learned about the grant program, which pays for eligible storefront improvements in the city’s Central Business District, from CEDC Executive Director Chandra Eggemeyer and said it was very helpful.

“I am very thankful to have it,” Brownlee said. “For someone trying to start on a budget, it is a major help, and I would recommend it to other businesses.”

The building previously received a façade grant about four years ago, which improved its curb appeal, but it was still only used as storage as it had been for about four decades. Brownlee, however, wanted to be in that location.

“It’s in a prime location next to the Mulkey, which is being heavily promoted, and there are a lot of wonderful people on this block,” Brownlee said, referring specifically to neighbors down the street, longtime Clarendon bootmaker Jim Owens and leathergoods artisan Jamie Bebout at Straight Off The Ranch.

Brownlee has been making boots for about two years, learning the trade in Henrietta before her husband took a job on the High Card Ranch near Clarendon in April. She said they and their young son love it here, and she looks forward to taking boot orders and doing repair work as well as scheduling hair appointments.

In addition to new signage, Brownlee has spent a great deal of time refinishing the walls and ceiling in the building as well as sealing the hardwood floor. The property owner also invested in electrical and plumbing upgrades to accommodate the new tenant.

Since the Façade Grant Program began in 2008, the CEDC has awarded $ 17,769.54 to property owners on a three-block stretch of Kearney Street. The Façade Grant Program provides 50-50 matching grants, up to a maximum of $2,000 per project, for improvements done to commercial storefronts; and under the new guidelines, the program now considers 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.

Projects eligible for consideration could be anything from a coat of paint to new signage to sidewalk improvements to a complete rehabilitation of a storefront. Property owners interested in Façade Grant funds must get approval before beginning their projects.

For more information about the CEDC Façade Grant Program, contact Chandra Eggemeyer at the Clarendon Visitor Center inside the Mulkey Theatre at 874-2421.