Last month, the Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) Board approved a $750,000 Downtown Jacksonville Retail Enhancement Plan designed to help recruit and retain street-level restaurant and retail business, along with creative office spaces. The recoverable grants will cover costs associated with renovating or preparing commercial space to improve the interior appearance and utility of street level storefronts.
Generally, applicable projects must exceed $10,000 in renovation costs, and the maximum grant award is $20 for every square foot leased or occupied with incentive dollars not exceeding 50% of the total costs.
The plan will go before City Council for approval in March, and the DIA is meeting with interested stakeholders within the program’s boundaries (shown below) to gauge interest and answer questions. The next stakeholder meeting is on:
Friday, February 14, 2014
2:30pm
Ed Ball Building – 214 N. Hogan Street
First Floor Training Room
Please RSVP to Cheryl Hunte at cheryl@downtownjacksonville.org if you plan to attend.
Questions may be directed to DIA CEO Aundra Wallace at awallace@coj.net. Read the full plan below or download it here.
