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Business and building owners in the villages of Dansville, Nunda, Mt. Morris, Geneseo and Lima had the chance to attend two presentations last week in the Livingston County Government Center regarding seeking a county grant for sign and facade improvements.
This is the second time Livingston County has offered this type of grant.
“We’ve been very pleased, as is the board of supervisors, the board of the development corporation, with the receptiveness and the results from the first round of the facade program,” Pat Rountree, Livingston County Economic Development director said at the beginning of the Nov. 29 meeting.
To apply for the grant, the business must be located within a designated district and the project must meet specific design guidelines.
The 50-percent reimbursable sign and facade grants are available for up to $5,000 for each business or building owner. That is, no more than $10,000 must be spent on the project as a whole.
Through this grant last year, a total of $71,000 was awarded to five businesses.
This year, $60,000 is available to be divvied up among small businesses.
Grants are funded through fees collected from industrial financing transactions through Livingston County Industrial Development Agency.
The fees are then funnelled to the Livingston County Development Corporation, who administers the grant.
One of the differences between this round of grants and the last is that this will be a combined $5,000 grant for both sign and facade improvements, not two seperate grants for each.
Also different this year, (because the grant is combined) is that the recipient can split their award between sign and facade improvements as they wish. There is not a specific dollar limit for either.
Tom Baldwin, who wears three hats as Nunda town supervisor, a Nunda business owner and Nunda building owner, was among roughly 15 in attendance at the Nov. 29 meeting.
“I was very pleased in my own town of Nunda to see the effects of the improvements,” he said of the last round. “The program seemed to be a catalyst to a lot of building owners to do something.”
Baldwin is planning to use this grant, if awarded, to help restore Nunda’s Union Block, which he and his wife, Barbara, own. Last year, the grant helped him finish work on one of the building’s bays two-to-three years ahead of schedule.
The county’s development corporation conducted a second meeting the following day at 8:30 a.m. Another 15 or so attended.
Applications for the grant are due to the Livingston County Development Corporation by 4 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2012. Awards are expected to be announced in March.
Once awarded, work on the buildings must be completed by Sept. 30, 2012. Reimbursements will be given to the recipients after work is completed and has been paid.
In addition to the county grant, the villages of Geneseo, Mt. Morris and Nunda are awaiting to hear if they have been awarded New York State Main Street grants.
It is expected that those municipalities will be notified by the end of this month.
Business and building owners in the villages of Dansville, Nunda, Mt. Morris, Geneseo and Lima had the chance to attend two presentations last week in the Livingston County Government Center regarding seeking a county grant for sign and facade improvements.
This is the second time Livingston County has offered this type of grant.
“We’ve been very pleased, as is the board of supervisors, the board of the development corporation, with the receptiveness and the results from the first round of the facade program,” Pat Rountree, Livingston County Economic Development director said at the beginning of the Nov. 29 meeting.
To apply for the grant, the business must be located within a designated district and the project must meet specific design guidelines.
The 50-percent reimbursable sign and facade grants are available for up to $5,000 for each business or building owner. That is, no more than $10,000 must be spent on the project as a whole.
Through this grant last year, a total of $71,000 was awarded to five businesses.
This year, $60,000 is available to be divvied up among small businesses.
Grants are funded through fees collected from industrial financing transactions through Livingston County Industrial Development Agency.
The fees are then funnelled to the Livingston County Development Corporation, who administers the grant.
One of the differences between this round of grants and the last is that this will be a combined $5,000 grant for both sign and facade improvements, not two seperate grants for each.
Also different this year, (because the grant is combined) is that the recipient can split their award between sign and facade improvements as they wish. There is not a specific dollar limit for either.
Tom Baldwin, who wears three hats as Nunda town supervisor, a Nunda business owner and Nunda building owner, was among roughly 15 in attendance at the Nov. 29 meeting.
“I was very pleased in my own town of Nunda to see the effects of the improvements,” he said of the last round. “The program seemed to be a catalyst to a lot of building owners to do something.”
Baldwin is planning to use this grant, if awarded, to help restore Nunda’s Union Block, which he and his wife, Barbara, own. Last year, the grant helped him finish work on one of the building’s bays two-to-three years ahead of schedule.
The county’s development corporation conducted a second meeting the following day at 8:30 a.m. Another 15 or so attended.
Applications for the grant are due to the Livingston County Development Corporation by 4 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2012. Awards are expected to be announced in March.
Once awarded, work on the buildings must be completed by Sept. 30, 2012. Reimbursements will be given to the recipients after work is completed and has been paid.
In addition to the county grant, the villages of Geneseo, Mt. Morris and Nunda are awaiting to hear if they have been awarded New York State Main Street grants.
It is expected that those municipalities will be notified by the end of this month.
