Façade Investment Grant Program
We are pleased to announce a new Façade Investment Grant Program made possible from funding received from the Community Revitalization Program of Montgomery County. The Facade Investment Grant Program provides $30,000 to property owners and/or business owners to encourage restoration projects of building facades and to enhance the building’s overall exterior appearance, thus creating a more attractive Business Improvement District (BID) in Jenkintown.
The application deadline was December 31, 2009 and there were seventeen applicants with nearly $60,000 in requested project funds for the $30,000 grant thus making this a highly competitive process. The selected projects for the Facade Investment Grant are listed below:
1. Juan Gamez, owner: Diversified Acquistions, 431-433 Old York Road: Repoint brick on front of building; repair and paint window trim; repaint brick on side of building; install awning ($10,000)
2. Thomas Federman and Jeffrey Lustig, owners of Midgard Properties: 301-305 Old York Road: Repaint front and side of building; install new signs, awnings and lighting ($10,000)
3. Fred Kaplan-Mayer, director: Hiway Theatre, 212 Old York Road: Replication and installation of the original neon sign from the 1940s ($5,000)
4. James & Marta Vosbikian, owners: Radist Properties (Family Dentistry), 609-611 West Avenue: Seal the exterior stucco and concrete block exterior of the building ($1,853)
5. Angelo Garcia, owner: Angelo’s Hair Design, 812-816 West Avenue: Repoint brick and install three awnings on front of building ($1,333).
6. Steven Katz, owner: Premier Brokerage Services, 604 Harper Avenue: Repair and repaint shutters on front of building ($733)
7. Mary Helweg: Helweg Funeral Home, 457-459 and 471 Old York Road: Repair and repaint wood trim on the facades of the one-story office building at 457-459 Old York Road and the retail property at 471 Old York Road ($563)
8. Doug Levin, Jack and Norma Levin: DFL Galleries, 207 Old York Road: Replace storefront glass and repointing brick ($518)
Our aim is to help our property and business owners with façade improvements and maximize the impact of our county resources grant to our borough. All applications were reviewed by the Jenkintown Community Alliance’s Design Committee with the Jenkintown Borough Planning Commission to help ensure the work conforms to funding requirements resulting in a more vibrant downtown.
