The Metropolis of Raleigh has opened the fourth and last utility window for its 2024–2025 Constructing Up-fit Grant program. The present cycle started on Thursday, April 3, and runs via Sunday, April 27. Award notifications are anticipated by Friday, Could 16.
The Constructing Up-fit Grant is an identical reimbursement initiative that assists small enterprise house owners with inside enhancements to industrial properties inside Raleigh metropolis limits. Designed to advertise job creation, financial improvement, and the revitalization of underused areas, the grant matches as much as 50 p.c of certified development prices. Tasks should embody capital enhancements and a change in use to qualify.
Candidates have to be small enterprise house owners with 49 or fewer workers and should occupy the area being upgraded, both via possession or a lease settlement of not less than three years. Franchises, residential properties, and companies positioned exterior Raleigh should not eligible.
Eligibility and Utility Course of
To start the method, potential candidates should first full a preliminary kind to find out eligibility. Metropolis employees will contact eligible candidates through e mail to offer a proper utility. Solely purposes submitted in the course of the lively grant window can be thought of.
Tasks that qualify for funding embody upgrades to HVAC, electrical methods, lighting, plumbing, inside development, restrooms, flooring, and structural modifications. Accessibility enhancements, vitality effectivity upgrades, and different work that meets code necessities can also be eligible.
Grant funds are awarded after challenge completion and require submission of paid invoices and receipts. All tasks should require permits and should not start previous to grant approval.
Sure varieties of work don’t qualify, together with like-for-like tools replacements, easy redecorating, signage, exterior enhancements, and the acquisition of non-public or retail gadgets not tied to the development challenge. Ineligible tasks additionally embody work that doesn’t represent a change of use or add important worth to the property.
Examples of eligible modifications embody changing vacant buildings into lively workplace areas, remodeling outdated warehouses into eating places, or modifying empty retail area for specialty manufacturing. Tasks that activate adjoining vacant areas or increase a present industrial use to incorporate higher-value actions can also qualify.
Grant Limits and Restrictions
Solely two grants are permitted per industrial property inside a single calendar yr. Enterprise house owners might obtain just one grant inside a three-year interval. Enterprise house owners who had been beforehand denied funding are eligible to reapply in future cycles.
This system prioritizes tasks inside designated Precedence Areas for Financial Growth. Companies in these zones might qualify for enhanced funding phrases and quantities.
For companies searching for extra exterior upgrades, Raleigh presents a separate Facade Rehabilitation Grant that may typically be paired with the Constructing Up-fit Grant, relying on the challenge and placement.
Extra Data
Full eligibility necessities, program brochures, and FAQs can be found via the Metropolis of Raleigh’s web site. candidates are strongly inspired to overview these assets earlier than making use of.
