Dateline: July 17, 2008

CEDC awards two storefront grants

The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation made its second and third awards under its Façade Grant Program last week.

The Hair Connection at 322 S. Kearney showed that a little bit goes a long ways as owner June Franklin and her husband put on a shiny new coat of paint and replaced some deteriorating trim. A handsome new sign was the finishing touch.

The total project cost $146.14 and five hours of the couple’s time on July 6. The CEDC Board approved Franklin’s grant application on July 7, and President Steve Hall presented her with a check for $73.07 two days later.

“Every little bit helps,” said Franklin. “That pays for the paint.”

Franklin didn’t even know about the CEDC’s grant program when she started the project. Then Every Nook & Cranny co-owner Virginia Patten drove by and mentioned it to her.

The work has already paid off for Franklin, who says her salon has already picked up some new customers because they noticed the business.

The CEDC’s third grant was awarded to Roger Estlack, who refurbished a storage building used by The Clarendon Enterprise north of the Mulkey Theatre at 106 S. Kearney. That project was eligible for and received the maximum award of $2,000.

Estlack hired Chris and Terri Ford of Finders Keepers to repair the 1892 building’s awning, restore the north showcase window, make other repairs, and paint the entire storefront.

“We were in a situation where we were going to have to replace the awning because it was deteriorating quickly,” Estlack said. “With the CEDC’s help, we were able to renovate the entire façade for just a little more than what the awning repairs alone would have cost us.”

The building has been used for nothing but storage for about three decades, but Estlack says that could change.

“The new look has generated a lot of interest,” he said, “and we’d be willing to do some work to the interior of the building if we could find a suitable business to rent the front of it.”

The CEDC has budgeted $10,000 for this year’s Façade Grant Program, which provides fifty-fifty matching grants up to a maximum of $2,000 per project for properties on a three-block stretch of Kearney Street between First and Fourth Streets.

Projects eligible for consideration could be anything from a coat of paint to new signage to a complete rehabilitation of a storefront.

The program will run through the close of this fiscal year, which ends September 30, 2008. The program’s future will depend on its success this year.

Every Nook & Cranny submitted the first grant of the year and received $1,055.20 for its storefront.