April 1st, 2024 by WCBC Radio

The “mid-town” façade improvement program will be taking applications beginning April 29th, 2024 through May 31st, 2024. Projects will be selected in June 2024.

This program is for commercial properties within the City of Cumberland located in the “mid-town” district. This district would be N. Centre and N. Mechanic streets between Bedford St. and where the two streets connect at Southern States.

Maximum Funding per Project: The maximum award that will be allocated will not exceed $10,000.

Not everyone who applies will receive funding.  Applicants are required to provide a 100% cash match from private investment. Special Consideration will be given to projects that can demonstrate the following:  Façades that are in greatest need of rehabilitation and are in considerable state of disrepair.  Projects in which a façade repair would make a significant improvement to the neighborhood.  Consideration will be given to those projects that can demonstrate the most project leverage or additional owner investment in the project.  In addition to local permit review, all applications must be reviewed by the State Historic Preservation Office and, if the property is located in the local historic preservation district, the Cumberland Historic Preservation Commission. All work must be done by a licensed General Contractor. All required permits must be obtained prior to construction. Projects that are commenced prior to receiving the proper permits will invalidate the funding agreement and will lose all awarded funds.

The proposed project must meet all state and local codes, and must comply with City Zoning Ordinances.