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Kensington Digital Media was presented with a $10,000 facade grant from Main Street Warsaw Monday.
Rob Parker, executive director of MSW, said Kensington Media, 216 W. Market St., put in more than $20,000 for full exterior renovations, including fixing some leakage issues.
Parker said many of the recent facade grants awarded recently were approved earlier in the year, but it takes time for everyone to get their construction complete.
The purpose of the facade grant is to freshen up the downtown area and to make it the living room area of the community, he said.
The funds for the facade grants come from the city of Warsaw, but Main Street Warsaw manages them.
The facade grant program started over 20 years ago when the Hyett Palma Study recommended it. When it started out, grants were maximized at $5,000 and a total of $25,000 was awarded.
When Doyle Hyett and Dolores Palma returned in 2023 to do another study, they recommended the city increase the facade grant and the city doubled the amount to a total of $50,000 with grants of up to a maximum of $10,000 each.
Parker said the increase in the grant amount is “extremely helpful” in improving downtown spaces and businesses, and in turn attracts more businesses to apply for the facade grant.
Since 2003, over $705,000 in matching grant funds have been distributed among downtown properties. This has resulted in over $2.1 million in downtown building improvements.
For more information about the facade grants and applying, visit the website at https://www.warsawcdc.org/about/grants-loans/facade-grant/.
