The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is now accepting applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Industrial Revitalization Fund (IRF) Planning Grant.
Donor Name: Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development
State: Virginia
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/04/2022
Size of the Grant: $100,000
Details:
The IRF program encourages economic development and investment through the renovation of vacant and derelict structures in Virginia. Each year, the program awards funding to localities throughout the state to assist market-drive projects that eliminate blighted structures and creates revitalization throughout Virginia communities. The success of the IRF program over the past nine years, as well as the need to support COVID-impacted industries, communities and people has led to additional funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). As a result, planning grants are available to help bolster early-stage projects, enabling feasibility studies and other planning-related activities for potential IRF applicants in Spring 2023.
Potential planning grant activities could include:
- Surveys;
- Vacant building inventories;
- Preliminary design and renderings;
- Building code and zoning assessments;
- Pro forma development;
- Market demand studies; or
- Other planning activities (consult the IRF team)
Funding Information
The planning grant round will be limited to $1,000,000 and be used to support the development of projects to be considered for future rounds of IRF funding. Award amounts will be based on expressed project needs, with no project receiving funds exceeding $100,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Only local governments (city, county, or town) or local economic or industrial development authorities may apply on the project’s behalf. Localities may designate a redevelopment authority or other similar organization as the designated agent for implementation and administration of activities.
- Eligible properties and structures may be redeveloped for any market-driven purpose including mixed-use, regardless of the original use. For purposes of IRF, mixed-use is defined as “a building incorporating residential uses in which a minimum of 30 percent of the usable floor space will be devoted to commercial, office, or industrial use or in which 30 percent of the projected project revenue is derived from the commercial space.” It is not the intent of the IRF Program to fund new construction or the development of greenfield properties, unless done in coordination with the redevelopment of an eligible vacant or deteriorated property.
- Applicants will be required to attest to their eligibility for ARPA funds. Projects seeking funding must address a harm caused by COVID-19 pandemic, or a harm resulting from or exacerbated by the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants should 1) identify the need created or exacerbated by the pandemic and 2) how their project seeks to remedy that need.
- Furthermore, applicants must also attest to how their project will support individuals, communities, or industries that faced disproportionate public health or economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information, visit VDHCD.
