Title/Name/Summary
Historic District Grant Program - Discussion Only
History
In 1998, the Village Board approved the first non-residential facade improvement program, known as the Old Orland Facade Improvement Program. This program was primarily intended to address the appearance of historic non-residential buildings in Old Orland along 143rd Street. In 2009, the program was revised to include additional buildings along 143rd Street between West Avenue and LaGrange Road in order to address all of the commercial buildings (historic and non-historic alike) across from the downtown area. At that time, the program was renamed as the Commercial Facade Improvement Program. In late 2012, the Village Board renewed the facade improvement program and made the grant available to all commercial properties Village-wide. The program was then referred to as the Appearance Improvement Grant (AIG). Qualifying improvements would be eligible for 50% of the cost of work up to $50,000. As a part of fiscal constraint measures, the AIG was de-funded in 2018.
This item is now before the Village Board for discussion to determine if the grant program should be re-instated to help support business retention and attraction to the Old Orland Historic District. If the program was open to all properties in the Historic District, it could also assist property owners with maintaining the historic character of landmark buildings and other contributing structures. The costs to renovate existing commercial properties in the Historic District can be significant due to the age and unique characteristics of these structures. In addition, the codes regarding the exterior appearance of the structure are typically more stringent in the Historic District. As such, this would allow the Village to help offset some of the costs associated with bringing a new business to the district or maintaining the historic character of the community.
Previous grant programs were always 50/50 share between the Villag...
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