The city plans to give away money-up to $100,000 annually-for the next three years to any downtown property owner or business looking to spruce up.
The City Council this week was presented with an ordinance creating the St. Charles Facade Improvement Business District, a program to award matching grants to pay for painting, brick work, signs and other improvements.
“This is a major effort to beautify downtown,” said Mayor Fred Norris. “We’re not looking at modernizing downtown as much as we are looking at cleaning up downtown.”
Development Director Robert Hupp said five parties so far have expressed an interest in receiving a grant since the idea was discussed earlier this year in committee.
There is no deadline for submitting a formal application, Hupp said. Individual recipients are eligible to receive up to $10,000 each or 50 percent of the project’s cost, whichever is less. The grant is paid after the work is complete.
The council has scheduled a public hearing on the ordinance for Aug. 15. Hupp said he anticipates signing formal agreements with buildings owners by September.