Just found out the city of Detroit gives a $500 grant for small biz facade improvements

I was digging through the city website last night looking for permit info and stumbled on this commercial facade grant program that covers up to $500 for signs and storefront fixes. Has anyone here actually gotten approved for it or is it a pain to apply?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_linda7d ago

$500 is basically nothing when you factor in the time and paperwork for this thing. I looked into it last year and the application asks for three bids, a detailed scope of work, and proof of property ownership plus business license - that's like 5 hours of digging around just to maybe get approved for an amount that covers maybe a single sign. The real kicker is they reimburse you after the work is done, so you're fronting the whole cost anyway and waiting who knows how long for them to cut a check. Plus the program runs out of funds by April usually, so unless you caught it in January you're probably wasting your time. I'd rather put that energy into finding a cheap sign maker and skipping the city entirely.

phoenixw117d ago

I painted my own sign for $40 and never looked back at city programs.