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Council adopts BRIC and GrowMonroe downtown incentive grants and repeals prior policies
Summary
Monroe City Council approved two new downtown incentive programs—BRIC (Building Rehabilitation and Improvement) and GrowMonroe—to replace eight older grant policies and encourage building improvements, second-floor occupancy and new businesses downtown.
The Monroe City Council voted to adopt two new downtown incentive programs—the Building Rehabilitation and Improvement Grant (BRIC) and the GrowMonroe grant—and to repeal the eight older downtown incentive policies currently on the books.
Donna O'Keefe, downtown manager, described BRIC as a 50/50 matching program designed to encourage interior and exterior building improvements in the downtown business district. "The BRIC program provides matching grants, so they're 50/50 grants that encourage improvements and or upgrades to interiors and exteriors of buildings in the downtown business district to make them more attractive for new, existing, and expanding businesses and residents," O'Keefe said.
O'Keefe walked council through eligible and ineligible work. Eligible projects include structural repairs, masonry restoration, roofing, HVAC, accessibility work, facade and window repair, and limited pedestrian amenities. The program also includes "escalators"—additional percentage increases to a grant award—to incentivize desired outcomes: an extra 10% for applicants that create at least three new jobs and 10% for projects that activate upper‑floor space, and an additional 20% where projects create residential units above street level.
The GrowMonroe grant is a 50/50 matching program aimed at supporting new and existing businesses with eligible expenses tied to opening, outfit costs or expansion. Awards are determined in part by a square‑footage formula (different per use type) and include a rent-subsidy feature (50% of new business rent for the first 12 months, paid in two installments after 6 and 12 months).
Council members praised the programs' emphasis on second-floor activation and simpler, consolidated eligibility rules. After discussion, a council member moved to adopt the BRIC and GrowMonroe policies and repeal the prior eight downtown policies; the motion carried by voice vote.
City staff recommended the changes as a way to provide consistent, transparent incentives for a range of downtown development scenarios while preserving council oversight through public hearings and application reviews.
