CEDC awards 22nd storefront grant

A business on US 287 has a new look thanks in part to a grant from the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation.

A Fine Feathered Nest, Inc., located at 311 E. Second received $2,000 last week as the 22nd award from the CEDC’s Façade Grant Program.

“The program certainly helped because it was expensive,” said co-owner Chriss Clifford. “It helped us go further than what we were going to do.”

Improvements at the business included new concrete at the building’s entrance, a new canvas awning with custom signage, new paint, and new accent lighting on the storefront.

“We got the light fixtures during the first Trash To Treasures garage sale several years ago,” Clifford said. “They are actually old 1940s radio speakers that have been repurposed.”

A Fine Feathered Nest started in 2004. Clifford and her sister, Theresa Shelton, run a full service interior design firm, providing kitchen and bathroom remodeling, home furnishings, window treatments, and unique lighting solutions.

As part of their storefront remodeling, Clifford and Shelton will soon be opening their store as a retail shop for home décor items that are handmade by area artisans.

Last month, the CEDC awarded $442.50 to Every Nook & Cranny for painting and work to improve its storefront on Kearney Street.

Since the Façade Grant Program began in 2008, the CEDC has awarded $27,839.54 to property owners in Clarendon. The Façade Grant Program provides 50-50 matching grants, up to a maximum of $2,000 per project, for improvements done to storefronts.

The program grants awards to eligible properties located in the city’s entire Central Business District and on the US 287 corridor.

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 or to apply for a grant, stop by the Clarendon Visitor Center.