Onondaga County Main Street Revitalization and Beautification Grant Program

We are excited to announce to our community that another round of Main Street Grant funding for business owners in our area.  This is a 75/25 (county pays 75%, owner 25%) match for businesses to improve their footprints, as well as some other extenuating circumstances (acquiring eyesore properties etc.).

Applications must be submitted to the Geddes Town Manager’s office by 2/13/24 deadline for consideration. LATE applications will not be considered. Questions, contact Jennifer Kolakowski at 315-468-3600 ext 6 or jkolakowski@townofgeddes.com

 

  • Onondaga County is offering municipalities up to $500,000 to improve your main street areas
    • It is a comprehensive grant program that provides funding for local revitalization efforts to grow the retail business district.
      • It can be a main street in a village, a business district in a town or a business district in a hamlet
      • If municipalities have multiple areas within their towns/villages they can submit multiple applications
    • Eligible rehabilitation properties are limited to commercial and mixed-use structures
    • Applicant cannot have any open code violations in the municipality; property taxes must be currently paid
    • The expectation is that the property owner will provide 25% of the funds
    • Improvement examples include:
      • Improve business facades
      • Acquire a property that is an eyesore
      • Demolition of a property that is an eyesore
    • Elected officials should work together with local businesses to develop a proposal that will positively impact a main street area:
      • Proposals will be evaluated and municipalities selected based on the overall impact of the project
      • Proposals should attempt to leverage other funding sources to combine with the County Main Street funding
      • Proposals should include the proposed activities, an explanation of how it will impact a main street area and a budget
    • Onondaga County Community Development will assist you throughout the process
    • Recipients of funding in previous rounds of the Onondaga County Main Street or the New York State Main Street programs are eligible
    • Municipalities with open Main Street grants from previous rounds are eligible to apply
    • The grant is a reimbursable grant. Once awardee shows proof that matching funds have been spent, remaining funds are reimbursed as submitted up to the agreed upon award amount