Council Member Laura Cabanilla recently shared an update
with Neighborhood Chairs to show how Federal CDBG (Community Development Block
Grant) funds have helped improve Provo’s Downtown area.
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| Before and after photos of Dave’s Bernina, a local business which has taken advantage of the grant program |
Cabanilla showed how grant monies have been employed to the façades
of local businesses, which has given a lift to Provo’s downtown image.
Cabanilla also shared photos demonstrating the dramatic differences the funds
have helped achieve. Some of the businesses which participated in the program
and were mentioned by Cabanilla include: Dave’s Bernina, Rice King, Gianni
International, City Limits, Station 22, and SORA.
For years the Redevelopment Agency of Provo City has offered
matching fund grants to businesses to help them maintain the appearance of
their exteriors. In 2011, as part of an effort to complement the construction
and opening of the Utah Valley Convention Center in 2012, the Council modified
the grant program to make it more attractive to a larger number of businesses.
Those businesses, particularly around Center Street, were aided by the
Council’s repurposing of CDBG funds from the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development. One of the major changes implemented by the Council was to change
the amount of fund matching, to incentivize businesses to participate in the
program. Previously, the Redevelopment Agency’s program matched funds at a
one-to-one ratio; the Council modified the allocation of funds to a three-to-one
ratio.
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| Another participant in the program, Rice King |
Cabanilla said the downtown area continues its growth, and
has a bright future thanks in part to the reconstruction of the Provo
Tabernacle into an LDS temple, the Utah Valley Convention Center, the Covey
Center for the Arts as well as new construction by Nuskin.
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| Another participant in the program, Station 22 |
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| Another participant in the program, SORA |
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