The City of Soldotna is now accepting grant applications for its Storefront Improvement Program until June 30th, 2023. The grant program offers up to $7,500 for projects that rehabilitate Soldotna storefronts. It aims to promote a thriving economy and an attractive streetscape.
Created in 2012, the City of Soldotna’s Storefront Improvement Program is available each year to encourage private investment in the Soldotna downtown and beautify the Sterling and Kenai Spur highways. The overall approach of the program is to boost traffic to the businesses, increase property values and improve the overall look and vitality of the commercial districts in Soldotna.
Director of Economic Development and Planning, John Czarnezki, spoke with KSRM;
“We just announced that we are now accepting applications for the program during the month of June and it is a competitive program. So, if you’re interested in receiving funds through the storefront improvement program, we encourage you to apply. There will be other application periods, but June is the month that we’re considering right now and we’re looking for applications the next time we will. And open up for applications will be September and then February.”
Czarnezki stated that the amount of the grant is $7,500;
“So, the grant amount is $7,500 and the city will pay up to 50% the cost of eligible improvements up to that maximum of $7,500. And, we only pay for projects that have been pre-approved by our review committee. So, you need to get your blessing first, turn in your application, get the blessing and then go do the work and then the. And the city will reimburse you after the fact.”
According to Czarneski the funds are available for the current application cycle and the City of Soldotna has already approved funds for FY24.
Czarnezki provides information on how to apply;
“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 facade. 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. Check out our project gallery with the full list of completed projects with before and after photos!
For more information, click here.