New Rochelle BID Awarded $500,000 Grant for Facade Improvement Program

The City of New Rochelle and the New Rochelle Business Improvement District will announce next week that the New Rochelle BID has been awarded $500,000 under the New York Main Street Program, a statewide grant program administered by the State’s Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR).

New York Main Street provides financial resources and technical assistance to communities to strengthen the economic vitality of the State’s traditional Main Streets and neighborhoods. The NY Main Street grant program provides funds from the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC) to units of local government, business improvement districts, and other not-for-profit organizations that are committed to revitalizing historic downtowns, mixed-use neighborhood commercial districts, and village centers.

The New Rochelle BID will use the money to continue and expand its existing Facade Improvement Program which has provided funds to improve buildings in downtown New Rochelle, primarily on Main Street and Division Street. In 2004, and again in2007, the New Rochelle BID was awarded $200,000 under an earlier incarnation of the program bringing the total amount of the awards to $900,000.

Projects being assisted by the BID Façade Improvement Program draw on matching grant funds the BID has obtained from the NYS Housing Trust Fund, the Empire State Development Corporation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal and the City of New Rochelle.

The $500,000 award is the maximum allowed by the program.

The program was increased by former Governor David A. Paterson who signed legislation as part of efforts to revitalize downtown business districts and main streets across the State. The new law grew out of a an agency initiative, known as New York Main Street, which was converted to a statewide program.

Previously, only not-for-profit organizations were eligible for funding through the program. The changes increased the maximum grant award from $200,000 to $500,000.