Local cooperation has yielded a new source of funding for businesses in two Mercer County cities in need of financial assistance for facade improvements.
The $50,000 grant, awarded through the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s Keystone Communities program, provides $25,000 each to Hermitage and Sharon.
Hermitage officials and the Sharon Community Development Corp. jointly applied for the grant, said Mark Longietti, Hermitage director of business and community development.
“The board really embraced the idea of joint communities, particularly because the business district really flows seamlessly from Sharon to Hermitage along East State Street,” Longietti said.
The grant is targeted toward businesses in Hermitage, including East State Street from the Sharon line east to Keel Ridge Road, and state Route 18 from Lamor Road south to Morefield Road, Longietti said.
Businesses in Sharon are also considered part of the target area, said Angie Urban, executive director of the Sharon Community and Development Corp.
Urban said this grant application is one of the first projects she’d been involved with through the newly formed SCDC, and said the partnership with Hermitage was an encouraging sign of collaboration between the two communities.
She credited Longietti and Suzanne Kepple, Sharon’s Community Development Block Grant manager.
“It’s been very easy to work with Mark Longietti and Suzanne Kepple to get this off the ground and we are committed to making sure that businesses are able to quickly and easily access this funding to improve their storefrontage,” Urban said.
Eligible projects must be external, street-facing projects such as signs, masonry and awnings. Landscaping, sidewalks and interior work are ineligible for the grant, according to city documents.
As part of the application for this grant, local officials had to demonstrate a demand for the funds by receiving at least five letters of interest from each community, Longietti said.
“For some businesses, it sounded like they’d do a project if they could find half the money, or at least $5,000,” Longietti said.
Longietti and Urban said officials from both municipalities developed a joint application form, in order to make the process as streamlined as possible for business owners.
A similar grant aimed at facade projects was awarded to the city of Sharon earlier this year through the Community Development Block Grant program.
That particular program is specific to Sharon businesses, although Urban said qualified businesses within the city could apply for both CDBG funds and the newly-awarded Keystone Communities Program funds.
“At Sharon we were lucky to have a couple different pots of money for businesses to apply from, but it’s the same program,” Urban said.
Sharon and Hermitage business owners can apply for grant funds now, with applications due by April 30. If funds are available, additional rounds will open with deadlines of June 30 and Aug. 30.
Applications and additional information for Hermitage businesses can be found on the city’s website, hermitage.net, while Sharon business owners should visit cityofsharon.net.
For questions, business owners can call either Longietti at 724-981-0800 ext. 1130, or Urban at 724-698-2466 or [email protected].
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