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player ready...Ten buildings located in or near downtown will get a facelift this summer when the City Council approves as expected a $25,000 facade improvement grant program.
The grants, ranging in amounts from $400 to $5,000, will be submitted for the council’s approval Monday, said Christine Jefferies, the city’s economic development director.
“We’ll have 10 buildings that will get cleaned up and look nicer than they did before,” Jefferies said. “For some, the maintenance has been put off for far too long and probably would continue to get put off if not for this program.”
The grants are designed to encourage building owners to spruce up their storefronts to attract more business. Each owner must contribute at least 50 percent of the costs of their projects.
Some of the more notable buildings that will get work done include the Little Owl restaurant at 1st and State Streets across from City Hall and the Berry House on South 3rd Street in the historic district.
The work must be done over the next six months, Jefferies said. Some of the 17 businesses that applied for grants were rejected because they wanted to put off the work until after September, she said.
The city wants to use the program’s success to motivate building owners who have been reluctant to pay for improvements to their structures, she said.