Small-business owners in Arvada looking to make an improvement to their storefront might be able to get a boost thanks to the Arvada Economic Development Association’s (AEDA) Exterior Improvement Grants. The matching grant — worth up to $15,000 — helped 13 businesses make various improvements to their exteriors last year.
AEDA is going into its ninth year of offering the grant, which it is taking applications for until March 17. The organization’s Economic Development Specialist, Sarah Miley, said AEDA started the grant to help the community feel cohesive, though there are sometimes other positive effects as well.
“It’s just really to better the business community in Arvada,” Miley said. “We want to encourage private-sector investment, creating goodwill with neighbors and assisting businesses who are interested in property capital improvements and enhancing the look of commercial properties in the community.
“We’ve found it to be a great tool to build relationships with businesses in the area and help them achieve goals,” Miley continued. “Anything from enhancements that improve crime prevention in their business to upgrades that, you know, help them align their business with their future goals… It’s really a nimble tool to help people achieve kind of a number of different areas of opportunity for their business.”
Miley added that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the grant was sometimes used to make patio improvements.
Megan Ruder, owner of Ruder Construction, said the improvements her company was able to make with its Exterior Improvement Grant — which included a privacy fence — allowed her business to improve its relationship with neighbors.
“I definitely feel like it’s improved our relationship with neighbors,” Ruder said. “The property looked pretty junky, and there’s a beautiful apartment complex right behind us, and then obviously we have neighbors on either side. It’s really kind of enhanced not only the functionality of our property but also the curb appeal, while still kind of being able to preserve the character of Arvada, because we really haven’t changed.
“It’s this little house in the front and then a big shop area in the back,” Ruder continued. “So, it still kind of has that Olde Town charm in the front and we have that character, but we’ve cleaned up a lot on the outside, and that’s really helped the curb appeal.”
AEDA matches up to $15,000 for the project, meaning that if a company is making a $10,000 renovation, they would only have to pay for $5,000 while AEDA would pay for the other half. Some applications that are approved don’t receive a 50% match. In those cases, AEDA will pay a smaller share of the project’s total cost.
Last year, AEDA got 23 applications and approved 13 including Arvada Dental Center, Ralston Road Shops, Rocky Mountain Commissary and McClaflin Real Estate.
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