Boyne City Main Street offers local facade grant program

The Boyne City Main Street Program is accepting applications from property owners for its newly established Façade Improvement Grant Program. The purpose of the program is to encourage private investment through the rehabilitation and improvement of facades within the Boyne City Main Street District, to encourage good design and to preserve the architectural character that is distinctive to Boyne City, said Main Street board chair Rob Swartz. By improving the appearance of building facades, the program hopes to boost the economic vitality of the Main Street district, which includes all of downtown Boyne City and the properties on North Lake Street from Water Street just past the Glen's shopping plaza, Swartz said. "We have been very fortunate in recent years, receiving façade grants through the State of Michigan, which have had an enormously positive impact on our community," said Main Street program manager Hugh Conklin. "We will continue to work with property owners to secure these grants but our goal through this local program is to provide assistance for many important projects that may not qualify for state incentives. 
HOW IT WORKS - The façade improvement program provides a matching grant for façade improvements within the Main Street District. For every dollar awarded, the applicant must spend an equal amount. Individual grant amounts will be up to 50 percent of project cost. Recommendations for funding grant applications will be made by the Main Street Design Committee to the Main Street Board, which will make all final grant-funding decisions. There is no set minimum or maximum number of projects per year. Funding for the façade grant program comes from money raised through Main Street's involvement in Boyne Thunder. For the current budget year, $10,000 has been allocated for the program. The application deadline for this round of funding is April 30.
> Information and applications for the Façade Improvement Grant Program. Questions? Contact the Main Street Office, 231-582-9009, mainstreet@boynecity.com.