Main Street Preservation Trust Opens Applications For Grant Funding For Façade & Interiors For 2020
Announces over a Million Dollars in Investment in downtown facades & interiors since 2011.
Special Dates to Remember:
Applications Due: Friday, March 20th – 3PM
Awards Announced: Friday, May 1st
The Main Street Preservation Trust has opened applications for 2020 for business and property owners along Main Street in Gloucester who wish to improve their facades or interiors of their buildings in the commercial area of Main Street. The program is now in its 10th year for awarding façade grants and in its 8th year for awarding interior and merchandising assistance grants. To apply, go to www.gloucestervillage.com and download the application or stop by the Main Street office to pick up an application.
For façade improvements, grants are available up to $20,000 on matching improvements and the grant is a 50/50, dollar for dollar match. For a copy of the design guidelines, please download from www.gloucestervillage.com and Click “Launch a Business”. General improvements allowed by the program but not limited to are windows, doors, awnings, landscaping, exterior painting, exterior signage, site work, and roofs where they are seen from Main Street.
For interior improvements, grants are available up to $15,000 on matching improvements and this is a dollar to dollar match as well. These improvements could include interior painting, flooring, lighting, plumbing and electrical upgrades. Although there are no design guidelines for this portion, any color choices must be presented in the application for approval by the Design Committee.
A special component to the interior grant program is the merchandising assistance grant which caps the grant at $2,500. This allows for the applicant to utilize interior design services, interior signage, and special effects improvements in their business. It also includes having a pre-approved professional designer work with store owners on window design and display. This is also a dollar for dollar match.
The grant application is due by Friday, March, 20th, 3PM. No late applications will be accepted. “This initiative has proven to be a great tool for economic vitality. Amazing results are seen when a downtown organization invests alongside its property and business owners,” stated Jenny Crittenden, Executive Director of the Main Street Preservation Trust. Since 2011, the Trust has awarded over $565,000 in grants. Combined with the amount invested by the property and business owners, investment has far exceeded the million-dollar mark since 2011 in the facades and interiors on Main Street. Crittenden further commented, “You can really see the results in the physical transformations that have taken place but it’s the overall message of taking pride in your place, your business, your community that really shines through. Main Street doesn’t just look good, it really feels good. This strategy of aesthetic improvement falls under the Design initiatives that are a cornerstone of our early and sustained revitalization efforts.” Crittenden reports that the Main Street Preservation Trust has allocated $75,000 in funding for the 2020 program.
For those property and business owners that need design assistance prior to a façade improvement, please contact the Main Street office. Because Gloucester Main Street is a designated Main Street community under Virginia Main Street, the Main Street Preservation Trust has access to free design assistance that can link property and business owners with an architect that specializes in downtown revitalization.
For more information on the Main Street Preservation Trust, go to www.gloucestervillage.com or call Executive Director, Jenny Crittenden at (804) 824-9614.