Plans To Beautify Downtown Fairbury Move Forward

An open house and meeting regarding future plans for downtown Fairbury was held at the city offices on Tuesday, May 16.The Fairbury City Council approved a plan to upgrade and beautify the downtown area of Fairbury at the Council meeting on May 18, 2021. Two years later, the plan is moving forward.The city was awarded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds through the Nebraska Economic Development District to develop a Downtown Revitalization (DTR) Plan. The city hired Miller and Associates Consulting Engineers, P.C., to perform the Downtown Revitalization Study.The project consists of two phases. Phase one was the planning portion of the program, which uses public input, existing conditions analysis, and community demographics to develop a DTR Plan. That phase was closed out and is moving on to phase two.The city is now seeking applications from those wishing to participate in this and other grants. There are several grants being offered that target the downtown district, three of which were mentioned at the meeting and a fourth currently in the works. Downtown Revitalization GrantThis grant is CDBG funded and is a 75/25 grant, with the grant covering the 75 percent of the project costs up to $50,000.It is the most restrictive grant and typically only façade work and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). Proposed improvements must meet DED (Nebraska Department of Economic Development) and historic requirements.It is a five-year forgivable loan that can be transferred with city approval and will only be available until 2025.Vacant buildings are not typically eligible.Downtown Design Challenge GrantThis is a 50/50 grant up to $ 33,000 currently offered by the city. It is reviewed locally by the City Historic Preservation Committee and awarded by the city council. It is continuously offered by the city twice a year and interested parties may apply more than once.Unlike the Downtown Revitalization Grant, can be used for more than façade work. City Sidewalk GrantThis is a 50/50 grant up to $3,000. It will be offered continuously by the city as long as budget allows and applications can apply more than once.It is reviewed and approved internally by city staff. QCT Recovery Grant for Small Business Entrepreneur SupportA fourth grant, offering $750,000 funded by ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also known as the COVID-19 Stimulus Package), will be offered in the future. The city is currently developing the guidelines for this grant opportunity and will reach out to businesses again once the program fully developedThis funding will be specific to individuals in the QCT (qualified census tract). The downtown district is located in the QCT and is intended to help support small business and entrepreneurs sustain and grow their businesses. Funding for this grant is expected to provide financial support that is not associated with building repair.The city expects this program to release this summer.Laura Bedlan, Fairbury Development Services Director, said, “We are proposing to run these grants concurrently and there may be opportunities to utilize all of the grants on a single building/business. If you are interested in any of these opportunities please contact us with your project proposals, we will review them and then reach back out to you to discuss which grants can be applied to which parts of your project. We are also working on a contractors list and will try to have to you in the near future.”

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