Main Street Revitalization Program
*This program is currently suspended*
The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs assists Indiana's rural residents in their endeavors to create successful, sustainable communities and improve local quality of life.
The goal of this grant is to encourage communities with eligible populations to focus on long-term community development efforts. This can take the form of business creation, increased tourism, historic preservation, and other economic revitalization efforts.
MSRP grant applicants must meet the following prerequisites:
- Have a designated Indiana Main Street organization;
- The Main Street organization is in good standing for meeting all the reporting requirements;
- The Main Street organization has attended required workshops associated with the Indiana Main Street Program during the past year;
- The Main Street organization is functioning within the Main Street 4 Point Approach of Organization, Design, Economic Vitality, and Promotion;
- The Main Street organization has current work plans for each of the four points that have been submitted to Indiana Main Street;
- The Main Street organization has a business recruitment/retention plan;
- The project must be part of the Main Street organization’s overall strategy; and
- The Community has completed a downtown revitalization plan within the past five years that meets OCRA’s minimum technical requirements. If a community has an alternative plan that meets OCRA’s minimum technical requirements for a downtown revitalization plan, they can use that alternative plan with approval from the CDBG Program Director.
A maximum grant award of $600,000 is in effect for all Main Street Revitalization projects. The maximum award is not intended to serve as a target figure for requests for grant assistance. OCRA will review the level of grant assistance requested and will consider the appropriateness of the project’s scope, the level of demonstrated need and the financial resources of the applicant. If OCRA determines that a lesser amount is appropriate, it may be necessary to revise the project before it is submitted in final form. A local match of 20% of the total project cost will be required for consideration of funding.
The amount of CDBG funds granted will be based on a $5,000 cost per project beneficiary. General types of activities that are eligible for MSRP funding include:
- Updating streetscapes
- Façade renovations
- Downtown infrastructure rehabilitation
Resource: National Objective - Slum/Blight Form