The Northern Development Initiative Trust’s Business Facade Improvement funding program provides annual funding of up to$20,000 to support economic development of eligible local businesses.
One big change Northern Development Initiative is making this year is to include businesses that face the highway as eligible applicants to apply for the financial assistance.
“We’ve gone through this business facade for quite a while, has anyone taken advantage of it?” asked councillor Rick Lundrigan.
“We’ve had one last year and one this year,” answered Michael Glavin, Chief Administrative Officer for the District of Houston.
A plan must be submitted by the district that includes eligible expenses, design guidelines, eligible applicants, and funding levels. Businesses that apply must pay for 50 per cent of the approved expenses, the other 50 per cent coming from the fund.
Council resolved to authorize staff to submit their application to the Northern Development Initiative.
Interested businesses can submit an application to the district for funding based on the criteria in the Business Facade Improvement Plan guidelines.