NORWICH – City officials, at this month’s Common Council meeting, authorized a joint application with the Business Improvement District Management Association (BIDMA) for the 2010 round of Main Street grant funding.
Through the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the program previously awarded grant money to owners of downtown properties willing to pick up half the tab towards renovations and improvements, in an effort to revitalize the business district.
If the grant is awarded this year, however, owners will only be asked to foot 25 percent of the expenses, reported Planning and Community Development Specialist Todd Dreyer, who added that the total amount available through the grant has also increased from $200,000 per year to $500,000.
The city has previously received money through the grant program, $400,000 in its two successful applications, which, when matched by local property owners, equaled $800,000. If awarded, this year’s grant would nearly match that two-year figure, with $250,000 coming from local participants added to the $500,000 awarded through the program.
Mayor Joe Maiurano said he “thinks we’re back in the running” this year, following the previous unsuccessful attempt to receive the grant, and commented on the difference that the Main Street program has made in the city.
“If you consider the state of downtown six years ago with the way it looks today, it’s like night and day,” said the mayor. “BIDMA, and Pegi LopPresti in particular, have done a phenomenal job with this money.”
Maiurano stated that city officials would be taking inventory of the entire downtown business district to see where the grant, if approved, would be most effective, and said that the most important thing is for the city to look “as good as it possibly can.”
“It’s important for the entire community to take pride in our city and how it appears, and this program really goes a long way toward making that a reality,” said the mayor.