City reopens downtown facade grant program

The City of Wooster has reopened its Downtown Wooster Commercial Facade Renovation Program, first launched in 2022. Main Street Wooster will again administer the grants.

The city has allocated $25,000 toward façade grants for 2023 and has partnered with Main Street Wooster to provide funding and management of the program, through which Main Street Wooster reimburses the business enterprise for up to 30% of the cost of a façade renovation, with a maximum reimbursement of $5,000 per project.

The grants are available for commercial façades within the Central Business District, which is the downtown area stretching along Market Street from Bixler Court to the north and the Madison Avenue/Spruce Street split to the south, along Liberty Street East to the railroad tracks at the foot of Pittsburgh Avenue, and west to Columbus Avenue along with significant portions of South and North streets.

Applications will be reviewed monthly, and eligible applicants will be granted funding on a first come, first served basis. The next application deadline is Aug. 14, and other application deadlines include Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 13 and Dec. 11, all subject to funding availability.

The program is designed to operate in conjunction with a private business enterprise that uses its own assets to renovate a commercial façade within the district. Grants will be made only for commercial or mixed-use properties.

Projects that have commenced construction activities will not be eligible for the grant program.

Upon acceptance of the grant reimbursement, the completed façade improvements must be maintained for five years. If improvements are not maintained, then the grant funding must be returned to Main Street Wooster upon demand.

Among the qualified applicants, the top applicants will be selected using the following criteria:

—Improvements are highly visible to customers, neighboring merchants and residents.

—Improvements are likely to increase business activity.

—Proposed work improves and enhances the visual quality of downtown buildings.

—It furthers the objectives of the city’s downtown master plan.

—Enables historical or architecturally significant buildings to be preserved.

—Provides for the creation or expansion of retailing and other commercial opportunities.

—Location within five blocks of Public Square, the closer to the Liberty Street and Market Street intersection, the better.

—Grant request is less than 30% of façade project cost. For example, if a window-replacement project costs $30,000, a $5,000 grant request is less than 30% of the façade project cost.

—Building owner is a resident of Wayne County.

—Building owner also owns the occupying business improvements address.

The objective of the program is to stimulate private investment in the Business District, so priority and emphasis will be given to commercial properties closest to the core downtown area facing Liberty and South Market streets.

The maximum amount of the grant shall not exceed $5,000 unless approved by the director of administration based on a finding that the project will have a significant impact on the downtown area. If such a determination is made, the $5,000 limitation shall be waived.

The key is to enhance the physical quality of structures and develop a sense of place, with a goal of creating inviting entrances while maintaining the design integrity of individual buildings including the upper stories.

The design for individual buildings also should take into account the surrounding structures, seeking and preserving elements that link buildings within a block, as the preservation of historically significant elements of the original facade is highly desirable.

Applications can be found at www.mainstreetwooster.org/facade-grant.