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Muncie mayor proposes $1.5 million facade revitalization program; MRC approves $1.65 million package
Summary
Mayor and city staff proposed a 10-year, $1.5 million Muncie Community Revitalization Grant (facade) program. The Muncie Redevelopment Commission approved a broader repurposing package totaling $1,650,000—including $150,000 a year for the facade program—by a 3-2 vote after extended discussion and requests for refinements.
The mayor proposed a new Muncie Community Revitalization Grant Program that would repurpose the annual debt-service payment the city no longer owes into a 10-year facade and rehabilitation grant program, with $150,000 available each year for 10 years.
The program would fund three tracks: a rehabilitation grant (maximum $25,000 match per project for downtown rehabilitations), a curb-appeal grant (up to $15,000, dollar-for-dollar), and a dilapidated-structure/demolition option (up to $10,000 for demolition or up to $15,000 where demolition is followed by required infill). The mayor said the program’s 2025 allocation would direct roughly 50% of funds to downtown, 30% to neighborhoods immediately adjacent to downtown (Old West End, South Central, Industry, East Central, Gilbert, McKinley and Riverside/Normal), and 20% citywide, with annual adjustments based on demand.
City staff and the mayor proposed repurposing recent receipts and other available balances into a broader uses package totaling $1,650,000. Jeff Howell summarized prospective uses discussed at the meeting: resurfacing roads at Airpark, purchase of a downtown parking lot to support a nearby development, paying off the outstanding balance on the Indiana Stamping property (approximately $400,000, subject to final payoff figures), a $250,000 materials allocation for the street department, and $250,000 toward the proposed facade program in 2025. Howell said the proposal draws on roughly $1.4 million from a defaulted economic development agreement and other available proceeds and would leave reserves in the commission’s accounts.
Commissioners questioned program design and oversight, including whether the MRC should issue a bond to frontload funds, how applications would be scored, whether demolition should be an eligible program component, and how the committee that reviews awards would be constituted. The mayor proposed a five-person review committee—two MRC members and three public appointees—with final awards coming back to the MRC because the funds are MRC proceeds. The mayor and staff said awards would be reimbursement-based and that funds would be withheld until work complied with program requirements and applicable historic-preservation standards.
After extended discussion and a motion to table that failed, the commission voted 3–2 to approve the funding request as presented. Commissioners Miller, Prabilla and Waggly voted yes; Commissioners Bishop and Dale voted no. The mayor and staff said they would circulate an overview and follow-up materials to the commission after the meeting and that program rules and an application matrix would be developed by the review committee.
