CDBG Downtown Revitalization

About this archived opportunity

Approximately $2.6 million in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds are available on an annual basis to cities and counties through the state of Iowa’s Commercial Building Facades program (formerly known as Downtown Revitalization or DTR). The Commercial Building Facades program provides grants to communities for activities contributing to comprehensive revitalization in historic city centers or core downtown areas. The program is primarily focused on building façade improvements to privately owned buildings in downtowns. Buildings with first floor residential use are prohibited from program participation. Work on roofs is also eligible. Front façades of buildings and side facades, when clearly visible from the travel lane of the adjacent public street are required. Rear facades are eligible only under unique or rare circumstances. Applicants may apply for funds to improve a number of building facades or for a single, documented iconic building. Those applying for funds for a single building must have prior IEDA approval. Upper story residential units are subject to Lead Based Paint requirements. The maximum grant award is $650,000. All incorporated cities and all counties in the State, except those designated as HUD entitlement areas, are eligible to apply for and receive funds under this program. To apply for the maximum award, a minimum of 8 blighted buildings (addresses) must be proposed for improvements in the overall project. A minimum of 6 blighted buildings (addresses) must be proposed for improvement to apply for any lesser amount of funds. Local matching funds from the city/county, building owners or other sources are required to be competitive. Applications for funding are accepted and reviewed competitively with the best applications funded. Applications for the CDBG Commercial Building Facades program (formerly known as DTR) must meet a CDBG program national objective. The national objective most applicable to Commercial Building Facades program projects is the elimination of the slum and blight. To address the slum and blight national objective, the application must document the extent or seriousness of deterioration or blight in the downtown “target” area to be assisted (at least 25% of all structures in the area), illustrating that the proposed activity will alleviate or eliminate at least some of the conditions causing the deterioration or blight. A comprehensive, detailed building survey documenting blight, as well as a designating Chapter 403 for Urban Renewal Area resolution from the local government applicant, is necessary to meet this national objective. The services of an architect to prepare preliminary cost estimates and renderings is required as part of the application. These costs cannot be reimbursed by CDBG funds. 2 CFR 200 Audit Requirements CDBG contracts may be subject to audit. Federal Code (2 CFR 200) requires that recipients that expend $750,000 or more in federal funds within a fiscal year must have a single or program specific audit. When budgeting for CDBG funds, applicants should be aware of these audit requirements: For recipients of $750,000 or more in federal funds received from more than one source of federal funding, an organization-wide audit must be conducted in accordance with federal requirements outlined in 2 CFR 200.514 For recipients of $750,000 or more in federal funds received from a single source, a project audit, targeting only transactions dealing specifically with