Buda Main Street Program Launches New Grant Program For Downtown

The goal of the grant program is to stimulate historic preservation and encourage private sector investment in downtown by collaborating with the public sector…

The Buda Main Street Program has officially launched the Main Street Buda Downtown Improvement Grant (DIG) and it is now available to business and property owners located within the Main Street district.

The goal of the grant program is to stimulate historic preservation and encourage private sector investment in downtown by collaborating with the public sector.

This partnership seeks to revitalize Buda’s historic downtown through the restoration and rehabilitation of commercial building facades located within the designated Main Street district.

The DIG is funded through the Buda Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and administered by the Buda Main Street Advisory Board and may be renewed by the EDC on a yearly basis.

It replaces the Buda Central Signage, Awning and Façade Improvement Grant formally administered by the Economic Development Corporation.

“The grant the EDC had in place was a great jumping off point for this program,” said Main Street Manager Maggie Gillespie. “We took the original grant then researched other grant programs across the state and ended up with a program that we feel fits the needs of Buda’s downtown business and property owners.

Once it was complete, we had the Historic Preservation Commission, Economic Development Corporation, the city’s planning department, and the Texas Main Street Program review the grant for accuracy and compliance.

The end result is a Downtown Improvement Grant that we hope will make a huge impact for our community.”

Grant funds may be used for exterior work on storefronts and highly visible side and rear facades.

The Downtown Improvement Grant is structured as a single-payment reimbursement to property/business owners per building/business and is applicable to commercially used properties only.

The grant will match dollar for dollar expenditures up to the maximum allocated per project as explained below:

Before beginning any project, the applicant must contact the City’s Historic Preservation Officer located in the Buda Planning Department, 100 Houston St., to discuss compliance with the Unified Development Code, applicability of any adopted historic district design standards & guidelines, and identification of necessary approval procedures and Certificates of Appropriateness for proposed work.

In addition to the Downtown Improvement Grant administered by the Main Street Program, the Economic Development Corporation offers an array of incentives for small businesses.

The Small Business Permitting grant provides 50% reimbursement of certain permit fees for small businesses.

The Buda Business Development Program provides grant funding for new or expanding small businesses located in an existing building in Buda’s Heritage District and are available for interior and exterior improvements.

For more information on these grants, please visit www.budaedc.com/incentives.

For more information on the Buda Main Street Downtown Improvement Grant or the Buda Main Street Program, please contact the Buda Main Street Program Manager at mgillespie@ci.buda.tx.us or call 512.523.1075.