Council reassigns ARPA funds: $300,000 for 405 E. Lexington repairs and $1 million boost for façade grants

City staff reported on two related items: final repairs and improvements for the city-owned property at 405 E. Lexington and the status of a business façade grant program funded with ARPA dollars.

Staff said the city purchased 405 E. Lexington using ARPA funds ($2,462,871 expended) and that $287,129 remained in the ARPA allocation for necessary improvements. To avoid ARPA timing constraints, staff recommended appropriating up to $300,000 from general-fund reserves for repairs and buildout. The council voted to appropriate up to $300,000 for necessary building improvements, including roof, structural, electrical and plumbing repairs as identified in forthcoming contractor scoping.

On the façade program, staff reported a high volume of applications: roughly 150 total applications across signage, paint and window categories with preliminary estimates indicating requests exceed available ARPA funding (sign applications alone were initially estimated at $1,232,000). Staff offered options: raise program funding to $1.75M to fund all qualifying applications; keep $500,000 and use a rubric to select roughly 44 projects; or an intermediate approach. Council directed a reallocation of $1,000,000 to the façade program (bringing the working pool to $1,000,000) and prioritized awards for businesses on highly visible corridors (Broadway, Fletcher Parkway, East/West Main Street, 2nd Street and Magnolia and other primary thoroughfares). Council also gave direction on rubric priorities (visibility, proximity to street/frontage, length of time in business) and requested staff to manage eligibility verification.

What happens next: Staff will evaluate applications against the rubric, confirm eligibility and return with award recommendations and a plan for administering the grants and any unspent funds.