The City of Soldotna has Storefront Improvement Programs to assist local business owners. The City, for the past several years, has offered the traditional storefront program, which provides matching grants for the physical improvement to building facades, to businesses locally.
The traditional storefront improvement program provides a matching grant for exterior business remodels in the city’s commercial districts. Shannon Davis, Executive Director for the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce explained the program, “The City of Soldotna has just opened their grant application process again for storefront improvement program, but this program is to promote the thriving community and attractive street gate. This is quite a bit of money for improving your storefront. It’s up to $7,500 for projects that rehabilitate storefronts. Applications are due by March 5th so that’s right around the corner. For program guidelines or for more information you can visit Soldotna.org or call the planning department over at the City of Soldotna.”
According to the city’s website, a virtual storefront program has also been added by the City to assist local businesses in building and maintaining their websites due to the health concerns brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual storefront program was developed to help small businesses affected by the pandemic, which provides grant funds for businesses to establish and expand their web presence. The grant amount available to each business is 75% of the cost of approved work, up to a maximum city contribution of $1,000. The applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.
The City reports that the program has awarded over $90,000 in grant funds to local projects and has resulted in more than $400,000 in private investment in the downtown area.
How to Apply:
The City accepts applications for the Traditional Storefront Improvement program three times per year, usually in September, June and February. Contact us at planning@soldotna.org or at 262-9107 for application deadlines and any questions you may have. For information about the program and types of projects that are eligible, please see their brochure and the full program guidelines. After you have reviewed the program guidelines to ensure your project is eligible, fill out an application and be sure to attach drawings or photos that help describe your project. Applications can be turned in at Soldotna City Hall. The City typically funds 2-3 projects per year.