The City of Wickliffe (City) is pleased to offer commercial, non-franchised property owners and/or business owners a reimbursement grant program for the purpose of improving the appearance of storefronts, including front façade, parking lots, signage or street-visible hardscaping.
Donor Name: City of Wickliffe
State: Ohio
County: Lake County (OH)
City: Wickliffe
Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement
Deadline: 10/31/2024
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Goals of the Program
- Promote reinvestment and restoration of commercial property
- Support efforts to improve the exterior aesthetics of commercial buildings
- Contribute to the economic growth and prosperity of Wickliffe
- Attract, retain and support locally-owned businesses.
Types of Eligible Projects
- Front Exterior Façade
- May include new/restored front doors and windows, painting, siding, tuck pointing (which does not exceed 50% of the project cost), awnings or outdoor cafes (which are visible from the street).
- Signage
- May include items that bear company marks, such as signage, awnings and/or window/door graphics, along with any restorations that are necessary due to the project.
- Parking Lot
- May include seal coating, resurfacing or full reconstruction, either in asphalt and/or concrete. Pot hole filling or concrete repairs are permissible only when they are part of a larger, approved project. Maximum grant amount for parking lot funding not to exceed $1,000.00.
- Street-Visible Hardscaping
- May include perennial plantings, if they are part of a larger, hardscape project.
- Annual Plantings: $200.00 maximum grant.
Funding Information
- Reimbursement assistance of up to 50% of total, eligible project costs, with the reimbursement amount not to exceed $10,000.
- Approved projects are to begin within three (3) months following grant approval and are to be completed no later than twelve (12) months following the grant approval date.
Requirements
- One grant per Applicant, per building, within a calendar year.
- The City reserves the right to permit additional grants for businesses at a single location, in the event the City deems it is in the City’s best interest.
- If a business/tenant is the Applicant, the property owner must confirm support of the project.
- The Applicant is responsible to pay for 100% of the project cost up front, as the grant is intended to be a reimbursement once the project is complete.
- All real estate taxes must be paid and current, all City income taxes (collected by RITA) will need to be current, and there may not be any delinquent bills owed to the City or to Lake County, Ohio.
- There must be no violations with any City, County or State code requirements.
- Any/all businesses must have current occupancy certificates and business licenses before a grant will be issued.
- All City requirements must be met, including securing the necessary zoning permits, building permits and approvals from the Architectural Board of Review, Board of Zoning Appeals and/or City Planning Commission, as may be required.
- The City will waive City of Wickliffe fees for Zoning, Plan Review or Planning Commission for an approved project. This waiver does not include deposits or fees which are required to be paid for the City Engineer or any other 3rd party for their review of a project, or required County fees.
- If any work is completed without the proper permits, the project will NOT be eligible for a grant.
- If there are building code violations at the time of application, a written plan with timeline to complete the work must be established to remedy the violations, if the project scope is not addressing the violations. No grant will be issued until the violations are corrected to the satisfaction of the City.
- Applicants are not permitted to use grant funds for regular maintenance issues, or for code violations, unless they are part of a larger, approved project.
- All contractors MUST be licensed and bonded to work in the City of Wickliffe.
- The project is required to be maintained for a period of five (5) years. If the project is not maintained, then the applicant will be responsible to reimburse the grant funds.
- Schedule for Reimbursements:
- Under 1 year – 100% of the grant
- Between 1 to 2 years – 80% of the grant
- Between 2 to 3 years – 60% of the grant
- Between 3 to 4 years – 40% of the grant
- Between 4 to 5 years – 20% of the grant
- Over 5 years – no repayment is required.
Ineligible Projects
- New-builds
- Roof work
- Apartment buildings without first floor commercial space(s)
- Home based businesses.
For more information, visit City of Wickliffe.
