The Wayland Main Street/DDA was selected last Tuesday for the pilot round of the State’s Façade Restoration Initiative, one of three Michigan communities selected to receive state funding through the new program.

The Michigan Strategic Fund approved $800,000 in grants for local façade improvement projects in three Michigan communities under the pilot round. Awardees were the Marquette Downtown Development Authority ($300,000), the Wayland Main Street/DDA ($200,000) and the Ypsilanti DDA ($300,000).

Approved in April, the $1.5 million Façade Restoration Initiative, or FRI, is intended to expand state support for façade improvement projects in Michigan communities. FRI provides matching funds of up to 50 percent of façade restoration costs to local downtown development authorities, Main Street organizations, principal shopping districts or local authorities. To be eligible, communities must have an existing and locally administered façade improvement program already in place.

The program also has been expanded by MSF to allow Michigan nonprofits and tax-exempt economic and community development organizations to apply for future funding rounds.

Wayland Main Street/DDA Executive Director Ingrid Miller said, ““We were selected for the strength, clarity, and commitment of our current façade program and for the pipeline of projects we have lined up. We are honored to be selected from the 60 communities that responded to the Request for Information. Not only does being awarded this opportunity recognize the positive impact of our program to date, it gives us the boost we needed to move forward on many projects.”

“The face of our downtown will be radically changed in a relatively short period of time. We are grateful to have been selected.”

For more information about the local Main Street program contact Miller at 888.417.6653 or Ingrid.miller@downtownwayland.com