Redevelopment commission to explore expanding downtown facade grants to interior work

Staff summarized the city’s facade grant program and asked the commission to consider moving administration into redevelopment and possibly extending eligibility to interior work. The staff member said the downtown historic district program is currently a matching grant and that recent budgets and awards vary; recent examples included new windows and tuckpointing paid in part through the grant program.

The staff member described the existing mechanics: certificate of appropriateness approval by the Historic Preservation Commission, a reimbursement process requiring three quotes and documentation, and a matching structure — "50% reimbursement up to 10,000." Commissioners advised setting a clear cap and application flow. One member said interior improvements could be allowed if the application tied the renovation to demonstrable economic return for the business, while others warned allowing interior work could rapidly exhaust limited funds.

The staff member cited examples from other towns (Highland, Newcastle, New Haven) and said preliminary research suggests many communities administer facade and similar improvement grants through redevelopment authorities, not the council’s general fund. The commission asked staff to do legal due diligence (including counsel review) and draft a detailed proposal with recommended caps, match formulas and an application process for the commission to consider at a future meeting.