Previous façade work is eligible for downtown revitalization grant funding

Hosted by the local chamber of commerce, town staff and two local business representatives try to get on the same page about eligibility for grant funding for downtown façade improvements. Photos/Roger Bianchini

A recent meeting of town officials and members of the local business community ironed out some miss-perceptions about parameters of a “Façade Improvement Program” that is part of a Downtown Front Royal Revitalization Project propelled forward by a state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

Front Royal was one of four communities that benefited from a second round of CDBG funding announced by then-Governor Terry McAuliffe on January 5.  Front Royal led that quartet of communities as 16^th on a list of 15 originally-qualifying municipalities announced in September 2017.  Thanks to the discovery of an additional $2,149,346 in available CDBG funding, the town government received $700,000 toward revitalization efforts in its Historic Downtown Business District. See Related Story

Part of the revitalization program is for façade improvements.  According to a Town-distributed summary of the façade program, “Previous improvements since September 2015 are eligible as a match.”

However, a miscommunication initially attributed to a contracted consultant on the revitalization project led some in the local business community to believe façade work done prior to awarding of or finalization of the grant contract would not qualify for matching grant funding.

“So it is not retroactive to 2015?” Royal Oak Computers and Vine and Leaf owner Craig Laird asked town staff present at a September meeting at the Front Royal-Warren County Chamber of Commerce.

“That is not true – it was a misunderstanding,” Town Planning Director Jeremy Camp replied.

“I encourage the Town to make sure the options are understood and clear – it’s still a win-win situation,” Apple House proprietor George McIntyre told Camp and Town Manager Joe Waltz.

Ready for some downtown facelifts

Responding to a question from McIntyre, Waltz said no contractor was fired as a result of the “misunderstanding” surrounding eligibility for receiving matching grant funding for façade work done from 2015 at the outset of the CDBG application process.  The misunderstanding apparently came from a communication breakdown between business owners and staff of the Northern Shenandoah Regional Commission that was assisting the Town with its grant application process.  The regional commission’s role in the process simply came to an end, the town manager explained.

Then NSVRC Director Martha Shickle was at the point of that assistance, Waltz later explained to Royal Examiner.  The misunderstanding on eligibility came in the wake of Shickle’s departure for a similar regional commission position in Richmond.

So for applicants accepted into the Façade Improvement aspect of the revitalization project, submitting proof of their expenditures on qualifying façade work will be matched by CDBG funding.  The state reimbursement must then be spent on additional, related façade work, town staff explained.

Questioned later, Town Planning Director Camp said at total of $357,500 has been committed to the façade improvement aspect of the revitalization program.  Of that, $325,000 is for construction work with another $32,500 committed to architectural aspects.  Town staff said that there were currently 18 applicants qualified for the façade improvement program, with an additional three “in the wings”.

The Town will match the CDBG funding and work must be completed within two years of signing of a contract with the Virginia Department of Housing and Development which oversees the grant expenditures.  Camp said that contract was signed on September 27.

Town Community Development Director Felicia Hart later told Royal Examiner that architect Kathy Frazier of Frazier & Associates of Staunton had been recruited to work on the downtown revitalization project for the Town.

“We are fortunate to have her – she’s been through this process and knows what the state wants,” Hart said.

So, if your business lies in the downtown revitalization area centered on East Main Street, but extending to portions of Chester, Jackson, Peyton, Crescent and Church Streets and South Royal and South Commerce Avenues, contact Jeremy Camp (635-4236) at the town planning department for more information on parameters and deadlines for inclusion in round two of the application process – “the sooner the better” we were told.

The Downtown Revitalization Area – Courtesy Graphic/Town of Front Royal

The community development block grants require local matches totaling at or near a 50/50 split.  The projects cited in Front Royal’s original $1-million CDBG application to foster economic revitalization included five of six focused on the Downtown Historic Business District:

• Façade improvements, $365,000 State/$350,000 Town;

The other five downtown projects cited physical improvements to publicly owned Town property, including:

• Physical improvements, public restrooms and drinking fountains, to the Town Gazebo area, $125,000 State/$26,180 Town;
• Multi-purpose Open Air Gathering Space, Gazebo area, $137,500 State/$114,500 Town;
• Sidewalk and streetlight upgrades on East Main Street, $25,000 State/$13,500 Town;
• Improvement to Jackson Street parking and side street and alley enhancements, $40,000 State/$16,500 Town.
• A sixth project, the Royal Shenandoah Greenway tied to the Criser Road Trail Link, was proposed at no cost to the State, with all $400,000 funded by the Town.

As for potential cuts to the plan due to the $300,000 deficit in the requested grant revenue, Camp has previously pointed to a pavilion included as part of the Gazebo area public improvements as a “large-ticket” item cost-wise that might be a prime candidate to be deferred five or so years into the future.