Borough seeking facade improvement grants

PERKASIE >> Between 2007 and 2010, Perkasie businesses used almost $25,000 of state facade grants to make about $65,000 of improvements to the exterior of business buildings.

In 2011, the Perkasie Olde Towne Association, which has since been renamed the Perkasie Towne Improvement Association, put in another $6,000, followed by $2,000 more in 2012 for more facade grants.

Now the borough is teaming up with PTIA to apply for another round of state grants for more facade improvements.

The move dovetails with last month’s decision to extend the time Perkasie businesses can have outdoor dining and/or merchandise sales through the end of the year and is another example of efforts to help the businesses, Perkasie Borough Council member Aaron Clark, who chairs the board’s Economic Development Committee, said at council’s March 1 meeting.

The Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development’s Keystone Communities Program has several grant programs, including the facade grants, Linda Reid, Perkasie’s community development manager, said.

“They are offering communities up to $50,000 to be used for facade grants,” she said.

Individual grants of up to $5,000 may be offered, although the local program could set the amount at less than that so grants could be given to more businesses, she said. The businesses that get the grants have to match it by paying at least as much as the grant amount for the project.

Perkasie Towne Improvement Association will apply to the state in the competitive process to get the grant money, and, if successful, will also administer the program, Reid said.

The council approved having her assist with the application and said it will also be providing a letter of support for the application.

“The look and feel of Perkasie’s downtown and business districts is part of the allure for local and regional shoppers looking to buy local. Perkasie Borough Council and staff support the Perkasie Towne Improvement Association’s efforts to establish a façade grant to help small businesses in our community invest in themselves. Supporting local businesses is more important than ever and I’m proud Perkasie is stepping up in partnership with the PTIA to get this program off the ground. Shop local, shop Perkasie!” Clark said in a follow-up comment.

“If the application is successful, these funds will help businesses improve their properties. An attractive shopping area is more inviting to customers and visitors and, in turn, will encourage even more new businesses to join us in Perkasie,” Reid said.

Part of the application process includes getting statements of interest from businesses about the proposed facade improvements, she said.

Two Zoom meetings with businesses were scheduled, after which a survey was being sent to the businesses again explaining the program and giving a form that could be returned with information about what interested businesses would like to do with the grant money, Joe Ferry, PTIA’s director of development, said in a telephone interview.

“We want our businesses to look at their facades, see what kind of things they’d like to do, and give us the evidence that the state wants to see that there is a demand for this,” he said.

While the total amount from the state would not be more than $50,000, it could be less, he said.

“Based on the number of applications that we get and the amount that each application would require, we would apply for that amount up to $50,000,” Ferry said.

It will be a simple process for the businesses interested in getting the grants, he said.

“They don’t need drawings. They don’t need professional estimates,” Ferry said. “They just need to express to us what they’d like to do and approximately how much it will cost.”

PTIA plans to have a local contractor review the estimated prices, he said.

The application is due in April, with the state making a decision in May, so the facade improvements could be done this year, he said.