Statewide–Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced that twelve properties will receive funding through the Historic Renovation Grant Program.
“Join me in congratulating these 12 business owners for receiving funds from the Historical Renovation Grant Program,” said. Lt. Gov. Crouch. “Preservation efforts like this ensure a future for our many vacant, neglected, or historic properties that might otherwise be lost.”
The Historic Renovation Grant Program, in its fourth year, is a comprehensive grant program designed to preserve and rehabilitate historic properties in order to further incentivize downtown economic development. The funding for this year has been exhausted through the projects listed below and the program is now suspended until more funding is allocated next legislative session.
“We are excited to fund projects that stretch across the state, from New Albany to Wabash, both small and large projects,” said Matt Crouch, Interim Executive Director of OCRA. “These projects help preserve pieces of Indiana’s rich history to be enjoyed by residents and visitors for generations to come.”
Eligible properties for this grant program must be at least fifty years old and either listed on the register of Indiana historic sites/structures, be listed or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or be listed as a contributing resource in a National Register District.
Eligible applicants include non-profit, individual, partnership, firm, association, joint venture, limited liability company, corporation, or non-profit affordable housing organization. Applicants with an eligible historic commercial structure can apply for project funding between $5,000 and $100,000 at a maximum request of 50 percent of the total eligible project cost.
Each property received funding for the renovation and preservation of exterior features. Such renovations include roof replacement, masonry restoration, repair and replacement of doors and windows, façade renovation, and/or chimney improvements.
The only grant awarded in Southeastern Indiana goes to Jason Long. Long is awarded $18,421 to preserve the Sherman Row House located in the Town of Vernon. This building was built in 1830 and was eventually used as part of the Underground Railroad to assist in helping enslaved peoples gain their freedom in the mid-1800s. Slaves were once brought up from the Muscatatuck River and hidden in the tunnels dug underneath the building. Originally used as a hotel, the main level part is currently in use as a liquor store.
