Keeping historic buildings up to par isn’t easy, and it isn’t cheap either. That’s why the city of Lisbon earmarks $20,000 in funding annually for the Downtown Reinvestment Grant, City Administrator Brandon Siggins said.
The grant, which has been available for over a decade, helps local business owners in Lisbon’s historic downtown afford the cost of renovations and repairs on the more than 150-year-old buildings. The grant covers 60% of the costs for exterior projects and 50% of the costs for interior projects.
“It encourages business owners and property owners to keep their properties up, and it gives them an incentive for doing it,” Siggins said. “And I think that’s a really cool part of keeping a healthy downtown, is everybody maintaining and doing their part.”
The city earmarks the $20,000 from Tax Increment Financing for the Urban Renewal District that includes the historic downtown. The funds can be used for any kind of interior or exterior rehabilitation, renovation, or improvement as long as it abides by historic preservation standards.
Though maintaining historical authenticity is expensive, Siggins said.
“Sometimes that can cost more money, especially if you’re trying to make it look like its original state,” Siggins said. “There are a lot of dollars that get thrown at that. So the point with this is it helps if you truly want to maintain that aspect of it, then here’s some funding to help do that.”
However, Siggins said that in some years, the funds are underutilized and that he has worked on increasing the amount of the grants used yearly to ensure the funds are properly utilized. Though he said, in recent years, the grant program has seen more utilization.
“This year, we’re off to a pretty decent start,” Siggins said.
The Lisbon City Council approved its second project, new wood flooring at Indulgence Salon located at 111 E. Main St., at its Sept. 22 meeting.
Laura Baxa, the owner of Indulgence Salon, said she chose her wood flooring as her next project because “it’s had its wear.”
“There are a lot of people who walk on this floor every day, and with old buildings, the floor is settled,” Baxa said. “And I was going to get a new floor, whether I could get the grant or not, but that grant was just like a cherry on top of the cake to be able to get some extra money.”
Baxa said she loves utilizing the grant program because it makes it much more affordable to keep up the maintenance on her building.
“I am hoping to keep my building standing for another 150 years,” Baxa said. “I don’t want my building to fall apart for one, so just for the structural purposes, but also for the beautification.”
Siggins said the grant program has helped Lisbon maintain its downtown, which is difficult for small towns.
“It encourages and assists small business development in the downtown,” Siggins said. “A lot of these communities are losing their downtown. We’d like to keep that thriving as much as possible.”
Baxa said the grant helps keep downtown Lisbon nice and keep its historic charm.
“I feel like our historical downtown, if you don’t spend the money, it shows, and it’s devastating to drive through downtowns that people just have not kept up on their projects,” Baxa said. “So if you are going to invest in an old building, then you need to know that with that comes your responsibility of keeping up on it.”
Siggins said the historic charm is an integral part of the community, with the downtown being along the historic Lincoln Highway.
“I know that there’s been a lot of time and effort put in by the historical preservation folks within our community,” Siggins said. “I think there are people who definitely come to town to look at things like that. And I think it’s important to keep it looking good and thriving as much as possible.”
Baxa has used the grant before for masonry on the brick on the front of her building to keep the original facade and maintain its historical significance. She said the grant helps her keep up with the costs and do a project a year.
“It’s very expensive,” Baxa said. “So, I kind of pick a project a year, and go with that, because there’s probably a list of 20 more things that need to be done, but I just can’t afford to do it all at once.”
Baxa said the grant process is incredibly easy, and she likes that she doesn’t have to pay someone to write a grant for her, like some of the larger grants require.
“I would love to be able to get some of these huge grants where you get a lot of money, but I don’t have the time or the knowledge to know how to apply for those,” Baxa said. “So, it’s awesome with the downtown reinvestment grant you don’t have to hire somebody to write your grant for you. You can just write your own handwritten explanation of what you’re going to do, they look at it, and you’re pretty much going to get money.”