The City of Soldotna is now accepting a new round of grant applications for its Storefront Improvement Program until September 30th. The program provides a 50% matching grant, up to $7,500, for exterior business remodels in Soldotna commercial districts, and seeks to encourage private investment to beautify the Sterling and Kenai Spur Highway corridors.
Executive Director of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, Maddie McElrea, shared about the program on KSRM’s Morning Update with Matt Wilson. “It’s to promote a thriving economy and an attractive streetscape. It This grant program offers up to $7500 for projects that rehabilitate Soldotna storefronts.”
Created in 2012, the tri-annually awarded Storefront Improvement Program is available each year and is intended to boost traffic to businesses, increase property values, and improve the overall look and vitality of the commercial districts in Soldotna.
“Applications are due no later than September 30th,” said McElrea. “For program guidelines and more info, you can visit soldotna.org/storefront, or call the Planning Department at 907-262-9107. So, continuing the project on the beautification of Soldotna. [The program] goes really hand-in-hand with the Riverfront Redevelopment Project they have going too.”
Soldotna Director of Economic Development & Planning, John Czarnezki previously provided additional details on the program;
“Really the emphasis of the program is to encourage the transformation of building facades through different improvements to their building, and we award greater weight to projects that incorporate multiple things. So, it might be a new windows or new doors, or it might be a new façade. It is added where there’s perhaps some trim work might include stone, or it might include a new dormer or something to transform the way the building looks. And those are the things that generally garner the most points when they’re evaluated.”
To date, the program has awarded over $90,000 in grant funds to local projects and has leveraged more than $400,000 in private investment in downtown Soldotna.