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Applications being accepted for Carson City redevelopment facade improvement grants

The Carson City Redevelopment Authority is offering grants of up to $25,000 to improve the exterior façades of commercial buildings within the Redevelopment District. The grant can be used to make improvements to the exterior of existing commercial buildings, including signs. The grant requires the property owner to pay at least half the cost of the improvements. A total of $200,000 has been allocated to the program.

City Supervisor and Redevelopment Authority Chair Karen Abowd notes that the façade improvement program implements the goals of Redevelopment. “With corridor improvements moving ahead, Redevelopment has taken a forward-thinking approach in its support of the façade improvement program by offering property owners financial assistance to improve building exteriors consistent with the historical context of the structures,” stated Abowd.

According to Community Development Director Lee Plemel, the idea of the program started with the desire to promote downtown property owners investment in their properties in compliance with historic building rehabilitation standards.

The Redevelopment Authority expanded the façade improvement program to include all commercial buildings within the Redevelopment District, not just the downtown. The Redevelopment District includes the downtown area south of John Street and all of the South Carson Street commercial areas from the downtown south to the US 50 interchange. The program is also intended to improve property values and the commercial desirability of properties in the vicinity.

Plemel has already been contacted by several property owners interested in the program, though no applications have been received yet. “We expect most of the grant requests to be for much less than $25,000,” stated Plemel. “The improvements can include things as simple as new paint.”

The grant requirements set by the Redevelopment Authority prohibit the grant from being used for properties that have already received City tax incentives, buildings constructed within the last five years, buildings with unresolved code violations, properties with overdue property taxes, and residential properties.

The initial façade improvement grant application deadline is April 15, and applications will be reviewed by the Redevelopment Authority Citizens Committee on May 2. After the initial deadline, applications will continue to be accepted and reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis subject to available funding.

Applications are available at the Community Development offices at 108 E. Proctor Street or can be downloaded from the Redevelopment website at www.carson.org/index.aspx?page=2533.

Redevelopment activities such as the façade improvement grant program are paid for through “tax-increment financing” (TIF). Property owners within the Redevelopment District do not pay additional property tax, but a portion of their property tax—the “tax increment”—is set aside and must be used for Redevelopment activities.
For additional information on the façade improvement program, contact Lee Plemel at 283-7075 or lplemel@carson.org.

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