Fifteen businesses in downtown Waterville will receive reimbursements up to $10,000 each for improving the facades of their buildings, the Central Maine Growth Council said Wednesday.
The money was awarded by the organization’s Façade and Building Improvement Grant Program, which is designed to complement revitalization within downtown Waterville’s Main Street corridor.
This is the third round of awards made since the program was established in 2019. The program is funded by Colby College and the Bill and Joan Alfond Foundation and administered by the Growth Council.
“The grant program has allowed us to leverage additional resources to help expand and grow new downtown private sector investment, incentivize landlords to beautify and improve their buildings, and preserve our historic downtown district while fostering the conditions for small business creation, retention, and economic development,” said Garvan Donegan, the council’s director of planning, innovation and economic development.
The program encourages new and existing downtown property owners and businesses to invest in their commercial storefronts while restoring the original character of historic buildings.
Grants provide reimbursement of up to 50% of a project’s total estimated budget up to $10,000. Eligible projects range from new awnings and signage to brick repointing and the removal of outdated alterations to building exteriors.
Grantees in the third round include:
- Sunset Realty Co., 197 Main St.
- Portland Pie Co., 173 Main St.
- Roisin Enterprises LLC, 119-123 Main St.
- Costantino Enterprises LLC, 115-117 Main St.
- Day’s Jewelers, 80 Main St.
- Holy Cannoli, 70 Main St.
- L. Tardif Jeweler, 62 Main St.
- SBS/Carbon Copy, 54 Main St.
- Children’s Book Cellar, 52 Main St.
- Incense & Peppermints, 48 Main St.
- Focus LLC, 36-44 Main St.
- MGH Realty Co. LLC, 57 Main St. and 14-28 Common St.
- Sidney H. Geller Trust, 5 Concourse East
- REM, 31 Temple St.
- Universal Bread, 14 Temple St.
“We’ve been baking bread at Universal Bread and curating vintage fashion at Heirloom Vintage Boutique for nearly eight years,” said Adrian Sulea, owner of Universal Bread. “We are thankful to have been awarded their support for this year’s facade improvement project.”
The program aims to broaden engagement in Waterville’s revitalization, activated by over $175 million in recent investment by private and public sector supporters.
Numerous new businesses downtown in the past few years include retail stores, an IT provider, a craft brewer, a biotech firm and Bricks Coworking & Innovation Space.
This year, the grant awards are expected to stimulate more than $150,000 in direct investment in downtown storefronts and facades.
In April 2020, the program allocated $70,000 to 10 downtown Waterville businesses. In 2019, the program awarded nine grants totaling $60,000.
The council has awarded a total of 36 grants totaling $175,950, supporting more than $2.25 million in direct investment in less than three years.