St. Francisville Main Street

OFFERS FACADE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

St. Francisville Main Street is soliciting facade grant applications from downtown building and/or business owners. The St Francisville Main Street program is able to offer two types of competitive grants: Facade Restoration Grants and Facade Maintenance Grants.

Facade Restoration Grants offer up to a $10,000 match for major improvements to downtown structures. These grants are intended to reverse adverse alterations and to bring buildings back to their historic appearance. Even jobs requiring structural repairs and stabilization may qualify under this grant.

Facade Maintenance Grants offer up to a $1,000 match for smaller clean-up and repair projects designed to improve the cosmetic appearance of downtown historic structures.

Applications received from St. Francisville Main Street building and/or business owners will compete statewide for funding with other Main Street communities' applications. A panel of experts at the state level will rank the applications according to the level of architectural preservation and impact on the streetscape, the historic district and the community.

To be eligible for facade grant funds through the program, a building must be located within the downtown Main Street district, must be used for commercial purposes, and must be at least 50 years old. In addition, the proposed work must be approved by the local historic district commission and the Louisiana Main Street office and must meet the guidelines set forth by the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.

St. Francisville Main Street facade grants are reimbursable matching fund grants that require project approval at the local and state level before work can begin. All grant applications must be submitted to the St. Francisville Main Street office located in the West Feliciana Parish Historical Museum 11757 Ferdinand Street by 12:00 noon, Friday, June 22, 2007. If awarded a facade grant, the applicant will be notified by September 14, 2007 at which time, work may begin. The St. Francisville Historical District boundaries are Commerce St. starting at the West Feliciana Parish Hospital to Burnett Rd. including the Lamplighter Suites property all of Ferdinand and Royal Streets and all street in between. If your building is located within these boundaries and you wish to apply for grant funds, contact Laurie Walsh, St. Francisville Main Street Manager, at 225-635-3873 or email lauriemainst@bellsouth.net.