GLADSTONE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Downtown Gladstone business owners have a chance to secure funding for improvement projects thanks to a returning initiative by the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).
The Gladstone DDA is relaunching its Façade Grant Program.
“This is a really great opportunity for businesses that are looking to do some exterior façade work and just need a little bit of help with funding,” explained DDA Director Patricia West. “Types of projects might be window or door upgrades, removing irrelevant signage, kind of taking back the historical element of a building if there’s old façade work that you want to take down, masonry repair. We’ve also done a mural in the downtown.”
With a minimum business owner match of 50% of the project cost, several downtown businesses have benefitted from the program over the years. One of those businesses is The Dewdrop Family Restaurant. Owner Amanda Phillips applied for a grant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were only allowed to have 50% capacity unless you were outdoors,” she said. “I was in the process of trying to find a way to do outdoor seating in order to allow more customers. One of my customers actually was a member of the DDA and mentioned the Façade Grant Program.”
The Dewdrop began building a patio. The project had an overall cost of approximately $28,000, and the Façade Grant supplied more than $12,000. Ever since, the outdoor seating area has been a tremendous asset to The Dewdrop.
“It increased my seating capacity by about 60 people,” said Phillips. “Then I wanted to enhance it more, so we decided to try live music. We get a nice crowd every week; they look forward to it. We also are now able to accommodate people that have animals, like a dog on a leash. Without that assistance, I wouldn’t have been able to complete the project, and I’m very thankful that we have that in our community.”
In addition to benefitting individual businesses, the DDA says the Façade Grant Program can help the entire downtown shine.
“We’re looking for projects that are really going to enhance the downtown feel, things that are going to keep up property values,” West said. “We’re looking to attract future businesses, we want to make Gladstone a great place for residents to come and want to live, and make the downtown just a nice place to be.”
Applications for the Façade Grant Program will be available at gladstonemi.gov/dda from September 1 through October 31, and grant recipients will be notified by the end of the year. To qualify, a business must be located within the DDA District and have a project that meets the program criteria. For more details on the Façade Grant Program and project criteria, click here.
