Grant application deadline looms
The January 3, 2022, grant application deadline for downtown property owners to capitalize on funding of up to 85% of the costs of building facade improvements is less than one week away!
This historic opportunity for Kendallville, named a PreservINg Main Street Pilot Community, to use $2 million awarded to transform downtown properties has already attracted nearly a dozen applicants. The program has also helped spur interest in new investments in downtown properties in Kendallville. One long-vacant building was recently purchased, and a grant application submitted to transform its facade.
The City of Kendallville has reached out to property owners of buildings with blatant code violations in hopes they will apply for funding or be motivated to instead sell properties in need of investment to address repairs.
Applications that have already been received represent less than 20% of downtown structures. Property owners whose projects are approved for funding, pending consultation and final reviews with professional engineers and architects, stand to receive 85% of project costs through the grant program. This means they must only commit to funding 15% of the costs of work, significantly less than the city's traditional 50/50 matching facade grant program. Some projects may be eligible for funding under both programs and Experience the Heart of Kendallville (EHK) recently learned that there is interest by local funders to assist property owners who may need "gap funding" as well in order to participate.
EHK encourages anyone interested to apply before the deadline, even if some details are not yet known, so as not to miss out on the opportunity to explore fully all possible resources. Steps that will come after the January 3 deadline include an initial review of applications on January 6, followed by a review of projects with professional architects and engineers on January 12.
These and other related Main Street meetings and events are posted on EHK's public web calendar and may be found by following the "Calendar" link on the EHK website.
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