Posted: 6:20 p.m. Monday, June 2, 2014

Facade grants help businesses grow

By Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

During the first 2 1/2 years of the city of Middletown’s facade grant program, more than $100,000 has been reimbursed to downtown businesses that invested in their exteriors.

Amanda Burkholder, manager of Downtown Middletown Inc., which administers the grants, said $25,000 was spent in 2012, the first year for the program, and $69,000 was paid out last year, and $25,000 to six businesses for the first round of grants this year. She said the program is a business rehabilitation tool designed for building and property owners to use to repair or replace their building facades. The program is a 50/50 matching grant program and is designed primarily for downtown buildings, she said.

The program will match up to 50 percent of the total facade project cost, she said. The applicant will be reimbursed only after completing the entire project, she said.

When considering whether to award a grant, Burkholder said the board considers several criteria, including the “visual impact” of the project. The committee looks at impact (40 percent), sustainability/permanence (30 percent), community contribution (20 percent) and financial leverage (10 percent) when judging applicants, she said.

“We want to get the most for our money,” Burkholder said.

Since 2012, DMI has awarded 27 grants, and every business that received reimbursement is still open, Burkholder said. Prior to submitting an application, the business owner must meet with Burkholder, and the design committee in regards to their project. They also must be approved by the historic commission.

Some of the businesses that have received grants: Pendleton Art Center, Middletown Historical Society, Design 2 Wear 2, Sorg Opera House, Music Central, Blue Goose Deuce, Middletown Cabinets, Beauverre Riordan Stained Glass Studios, and Cincinnati State Middletown. The grants range from several thousand dollars to a couple of hundred.

Typically, she said, the applications are due on April 1 and Sept. 1. If approved for a grant, the business must start the work within three months and complete it within one year, otherwise they lose the grant, she said.

Burkholder said six projects were recently approved, though all the paperwork hasn’t been completed so she couldn’t release the names of the recipients. Burkholder, who started in February, said she’s “very excited” about these projects because this will be the first time she has seen them from start to finish.

The program, she said, can “spur development” downtown by attracting new businesses.

Jessica Mobley, co-owner of Design 2 Wear 2, said the grant from the city — $400 for the $800 sign — was “helpful because it’s expensive to open up a business.” She applauded the city for trying to help small businesses succeed downtown.

Downtown Middlet0wn Inc. has awarded 27 facade grants since 2012. Here are the grants for 2012 and 2013. The six grants for this year have not be announced.

2012

Chamber of Commerce, $1,700

Rumford Productions, $5,500

Sorg Opera House, $1,500

Stained, $8,500

Forest Hills Country Club, $7,748

2013

Pendleton Art Center, $12,500

Middletown Arts Center, $2,000

Rumford Productions, $700

Sorg Opera House, $5,725

Masonic Lodge, $13,492

Head Hunter’s, $8,192

We Can Incubator, $786

Design 2 Wear 2, $406

Middletown Historical Society, $3,160

Denny Lumber, $6,051

Blue Goose Deuce, $1,857

Middletown Cabinets, $610

Former FOE, $3,637

Cincinnati State, $1,567

Former TenHo, $6,677