HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – Tuesday, the Downtown Hattiesburg Association announced a new improvement program for buildings in the Historic Conservation District.
The association is launching the 2023 Façade Grant program that will focus on supporting the growth and revitalization of existing commercial properties in the area.
“The idea of this façade grant is really trying to incentivize property owners and business owners to go ahead and update their façade, their storefront whether it’s their windows, addressing the damage that’s been there, paint that’s peeling, that type of thing,” said Andrea Saffle, executive director of Downtown Hattiesburg Association.
With a total of $200,000 in funding, the program also aims to attract potential investors and entrepreneurs looking to locate or expand a business in the downtown area.
The grant program will be funded through partners like Hattiesburg Landmark Preservation, Forrest County Board of Supervisors, the City of Hattiesburg and Mississippi Power Foundation.
“We initially donated $25,000 but as we talked more about it internally, we felt like it was really important for the city of Hattiesburg and so we upped that donation from $25,000 to $50,000,” said Cedrick Hurd, division manager of Mississippi Power.
Applications for the façade grants will be announced in sets with the first round of funding now open for applications through March 1.
Eligible projects for the fund are listed below:
- Cleaning
- painting
- Brickwork repair
- Lighting
- Awnings
- Canopies
- signage
- Murals
- Doors
- Windows
- Trims
- Railings
- Ironwork
- Original architectural features
Read original article here.
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