These businesses on E. Lovejoy Street in Buffalo’s east side are now eligible for a facelift and facade improvements, thanks to the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation. Business owners from Bailey to Geothe streets can apply for matching grants to improve their storefronts through the organization’s CARE program, created in an effort to promote the economic vitality of some of the city’s older neighborhood commercial districts.
The program, operated through a partnership between residents, merchants, city government and BERC, has already provided funds to rehab areas of Jefferson Avenue, Niagara Street, Grant/Ferry, Broadway/Fillmore, Seneca Street and Fillmore/Leroy.
In an effort to breathe new life into older neighborhoods, the program offers grants that can help owners revitalize the look and feel of businesses. For businesses in need of a “facelift,” CARE is offereing a $2,000 grant to fun the removal of deteriorating signs, the replacement of broken windows, and needed paint jobs. CARE operates based on the belief that small but visible public investment must be made to build a level of confidence that will then stimulate private investment.
To encourage the rehabilitation of storefront facades, in recognition of their impact on the overall appearance of a commercial district, business owners may apply for a matching grant of up to $8,000 for work improving the outside appearance of their shop. And to make business owners more comfortable in their neighborhoods, CARE offers matching grants of up to $3,000 to help the cost of installing security devices necessary for many commercial ventures.
The program also encourages commercial business areas to market and promote themselves. By providing small but meaningful public assistance to private business people in often forgotten areas of the city, BERC and the city’s office of strategic planning are helping to encourage and make possible future development in all areas of our city.