Downtown renovations: businesses shine up storefronts, thanks to city funds
Casey Cheney
Issue date: 10/1/09 Section: News
This fiscal year, the city of Hillsdale's Tax Increment Finance Authority awarded $45,818 to six businesses - The Palace Café, Hillsdale Filling Station, Trevathan's Sweep and Sew Shoppe, Moore Insurance, Good Life Management and the former Purple Turtle building - in downtown Hillsdale for them to make improvements to the facade of the building.
Economic Development Director Christine Bowman said the TIFA allows them to hold on to an allotted amount of tax money to "reinvest into the community."
"They will allocate a certain amount of money toward the program," Bowman said.
This program, begun in Hillsdale in 2005, allows businesses to apply for the facade grant matching the business investment dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000. If the business has in-vested more than $20,000 into the construction, it is up to the business owner to pay the balance.
The funds, Bowman said, can apply to projects as simple as tuckpointing, or replacing and cleaning mortar between the building's bricks, or as extensive as the complete face-lift the Palace Café is receiving, an improvement that Bowman will compliment the upcoming non-smoking policy at the Palace.
Facade grants cannot be used for improvements such as roofing or electrical work or plumbing.
For Larry Houck, owner of the Palace Cafe, the grant has helped speed along the complete makeover of the cafe by providing him with new windows, a new door and masonry work. Without the facade money, Houck said he wouldn't have completed this project until next year. And even then, the changes wouldn't have been as thorough.
"My plans for the front were nowhere near as nice and extensive," he said. "We've had only good comments from my neighbors and the community. It's nice to be comparable to [the neighboring businesses]."
These grants are all part of a larger TIFA to improve downtown Hillsdale, a project that will involve the repaving of the downtown parking lot.
Economic Development Director Christine Bowman said the TIFA allows them to hold on to an allotted amount of tax money to "reinvest into the community."
"They will allocate a certain amount of money toward the program," Bowman said.
This program, begun in Hillsdale in 2005, allows businesses to apply for the facade grant matching the business investment dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000. If the business has in-vested more than $20,000 into the construction, it is up to the business owner to pay the balance.
The funds, Bowman said, can apply to projects as simple as tuckpointing, or replacing and cleaning mortar between the building's bricks, or as extensive as the complete face-lift the Palace Café is receiving, an improvement that Bowman will compliment the upcoming non-smoking policy at the Palace.
Facade grants cannot be used for improvements such as roofing or electrical work or plumbing.
For Larry Houck, owner of the Palace Cafe, the grant has helped speed along the complete makeover of the cafe by providing him with new windows, a new door and masonry work. Without the facade money, Houck said he wouldn't have completed this project until next year. And even then, the changes wouldn't have been as thorough.
"My plans for the front were nowhere near as nice and extensive," he said. "We've had only good comments from my neighbors and the community. It's nice to be comparable to [the neighboring businesses]."
These grants are all part of a larger TIFA to improve downtown Hillsdale, a project that will involve the repaving of the downtown parking lot.
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