Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine today announced that applications for the 2024 Round of the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Grant Program are now available. A pool of $500,000 is available for partial funding of capital projects located in, or adjacent to, downtown areas on municipally-owned property. Award recipients will be selected by the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Citizens Advisory Panel following a competitive application process.
Applications for the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Grant Program are due by 4:00pm on Friday, May 17, 2024.
“This important economic development program continues to support the creation of the vibrant, walkable downtown areas that are vital to our regional economy,” said Romaine. “We look forward to another round of quality investments in partnership with our local Towns, Villages and community organizations.”
Grant applicants must be organizations that represent a downtown area and who partner with their local municipality. Organizations that represent downtown areas, including business improvement districts, chambers of commerce, civic associations, historical societies, beautification societies, and local development corporations are eligible applicants. Towns or villages who partner with a community organization are required to pass resolutions supporting the project on which the two entities partner. Projects must be capital in nature and have a significant and sustainable impact that enhances economic activity.
Among the various projects that are eligible for grants are public parking facilities, curb and sidewalk construction, pedestrian walkways, street lighting, public restrooms, disabled accessibility, renovations to existing structures, and cultural facilities. The criteria for eligible projects include that the project must be a capital improvement project, funding requests must be at least $10,000, the organization must partner with a municipality and be located on municipally-owned property in or adjacent to a downtown and the project life-span must be at least 15 years.
The Downtown Revitalization Citizens Advisory Panel utilizes a point system to evaluate each application to ensure projects that receive funding will make the greatest contribution to the long-term improvement of local downtowns and have a positive economic impact on Suffolk County as a whole. The application and guidelines can be found on the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization website.
