Utah Main Street announces Revive and Reside grants to convert historic upper floors to housing and activate downtown interiors

Utah Main Street announced a new Revive and Reside grant program that will fund interior rehabilitation of historic downtown buildings, with applications opening Wednesday, Feb. 5 and closing March 21. The program is intended to help convert underused upper floors to housing and reactivate ground floors for commercial use in designated Utah Main Street historic districts.

The program "has one overarching vision, which is to fund improvements to interior spaces of historic buildings in Utah's communities," said Carly Stauffer, grants administrator for Utah Main Street. Stauffer said the program includes separate rural and urban grant tracks with different funding sources and requirements.

Why it matters: This is the first grant of this type offered by Utah Main Street, the presenters said, and targets vacant or underused interior spaces in Tier 2 Main Street districts to encourage downtown housing and street-level economic activity. Awardees will enter preservation agreements and must meet federal or state preservation standards depending on the funding source.

Program structure and funds The Revive and Reside program is split into two tracks. The Rural Revive and Reside track uses federal funds passed through the National Park Service; projects awarded on the rural track will remain federal funds and are therefore subject to National Park Service oversight and federal requirements, including NEPA review where applicable. The Urban Revive and Reside track is funded directly by Utah Main Street with state funds and is subject to…