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AHOSKIE – Town officials here are reopening their successful Main Street Façade Grant Program.

The town received its original funding two years ago from the North Carolina Department of Commerce. That Main Street program closed out on July 1 of this year at which time the town had awarded grants totaling $107,335.48.

“We were recently notified by the state that they are continuing this grant program and we will have one more year to spend the money that we had to return, which totaled $42,664.52,” said Jennifer Bracy, interim Town Manager.

Bracy suggested a few options on how to award the $42,664.52. She said there could be eight grants awarded at $5,333 each, or six grants at $7,110 each, or four grants valued at $10,666 each.

The Façade Grant Program assists property and business owners located within an identified area on Main Street, from its intersections with Academy Street and Catherine Creek Road, to undertake storefront or building front improvements. This grant includes businesses that are up to a one block radius of Main Street on side streets. These improvements can range from minor repairs and painting, roof work, and for substantial façade renovations on buildings used as commercial businesses or offices.

If a business previously received a façade grant during the original stage of the funding cycle, they are permitted to apply again during this Winter 2024 program.

If a business or homeowner is approved for a grant, they are required to match that amount.

Councilman David Hunt suggested that he would like to wait and see how many applications are received before a decision is finalized on how much each grant is worth. He also wanted to extend the application deadline to at least February in an effort to spread the word on the availability of these grants.

Based on his latter suggestion, the application deadline was moved to Feb. 8. Those requesting a grant will be notified by Feb. 14 of the status of their application.

The deadline for the property owner to complete the work is mid June, as the town is required to have all final paperwork on the grants submitted to the NC Department of Commerce by July 1.

Council approved the deadlines.

The amount of each grant will be determined based on the number of approved applications.