Downtown Development Council to offer matching grants for exterior building improvements
By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
Qualifying downtown Breckenridge business owners can apply for grants from the Breckenridge Downtown Development Council to improve the exteriors of their buildings.
The BDDC’s Façade Grant Program will reimburse business owners up to $5,000 in matching funds (for 50 percent of the project) for approved improvements on a first come, first served basis. The actual amount will also depend on the amount of funds available.
The grant program is part of the BDDC’s overall plan to improve the downtown area of Breckenridge “one block, one building at a time,” J.B. Sparks, chairman of the BDDC, said.
The grants are for those business owners who also own the building. If a business owner is renting a building in downtown Breckenridge, they may team up with the building owner to apply for a grant together.
The council, which is an advisory committee to the Breckenridge Economic Development Corp., has $100,000 to fund the grants. That money was provided to the council for the grants from three community entities — $30,000 from the hotel/motel tax fund that the Chamber of Commerce receives from the City, $30,000 from Stephens County’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, and $40,000 from the BEDC.
Sparks said eligible businesses must be in the downtown area specified by the BDDC as “brick street to brick street.” That area is the four-block stretch along Walker Street from Merrill Street (where the old YMCA building is) to Rose Avenue (where InterBank is).
The grant funds may be used for signage, cladding (exterior surfaces), windows, doors, awnings, lighting, trim, decorative details, painting, and structural improvements.
For more details about what is eligible for the grants, as well as to download and/or fill out an application, visit the BDDC’s grant application page (click here) or the BDDC’s Facebook page (@downtownbreckenridge).
(Downtown Breckenridge photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
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