Grants available to downtown New Iberia businesses

New Iberia, LA - Through the Louisiana Main Street program, New Iberia Main Street Program is soliciting Re-development Incentive Grant applications from downtown commercial building and/or business owners located in the New Iberia Downtown Commercial Historic District. The Louisiana Main Street program is able to offer two types of competitive grants - a $10,000 grant for major projects and a $2,500 grant for minor projects. Grants are available for either interior or exterior rehabilitation. Interior improvements are limited to exposing, restoring, replicating, or enhancing the original interior architectural features, or the installation of fire suppression systems.

Louisiana Main Street is part of the Lt. Governor's Office of Cultural Development and the Division of Historic Preservation. Applications received from the New Iberia Downtown Commercial Historic District building and/or business owners will compete statewide for funding with other Main Street communities. Over the years, New Iberia Main Street has received some $110-thousand dollars in re-development grant funds from the Louisiana Main Street program and generated nearly $40 million in private re-investment.

To be eligible for Re-development Incentive Grant funds, a building must be located within the New Iberia Downtown Commercial Historic District, be used for commercial purposes, and be at least 50 years old. In addition, the proposed work must be approved by the local Historic District Commission and the Louisiana Main Street office, while also conforming to the guidelines set forth by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. New Iberia Main Street Re-development Incentive grants are reimbursable matching grants. Grants are reviewed by an independent panel comprised of professionals working in historic preservation and related field.

Panelists are neither members of designated Louisiana Main Street communities nor employees of the Louisiana Main Street program or the Division of Historic Preservation. Panelists consider, among other things, the degree of immediate economic and/or visual impact the project brings to the Main Street district in order to maximize the return on tax dollars reinvested in community revitalization projects. Louisiana Main Street assists historic commercial districts in their revitalization efforts.

Funded by the state, the program operates under the umbrella of the National Main Street Center, an arm of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, DC. The state program provides revitalization technical assistance in the areas of economic development, exterior, interior and streetscape design, promotion and organization. The services are available at no charge to individual merchants and commercial property owners located within the boundaries of the thirty-four designated Main Street districts statewide. Submit application to New Iberia Main Street office no later than Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 4:00pm to Main Street New Iberia. Call 369-2330 for more information.

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Grants available to downtown New Iberia businesses