Storefront Renovation Building Program
The mission of the City of Cleveland's Storefront Renovation Program (SRP) is to preserve, support and revitalize commercial retail districts in our city's neighborhoods. The SRP Building Rebate incentive offers design assistance and a financial incentive to commercial property owners or tenants who aim to renovate their public-facing storefronts and facades. Successfully completed SRP projects result in a comprehensive renovation with a significant visual impact and discernable "before" and "after" condition.
Program Eligibility
Storefront Renovation Program Staff will work with interested property owners and tenant businesses to understand if their projects are eligible for the Building Program based on the Cleveland Storefront Renovation Design Manual and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
To pre-qualify for the SRP Building Program, Applicants must own the building themselves, or provide the owner’s consent and have a 5-year lease at the time of contracting. The property owner must also be current on taxes or in an approved payment plan with the County. Program participants must agree to the scope of rehabilitation as outlined by an SRP Design Specialist
Eligibility factors include, but are not limited to:
Building Type- commercially zoned properties with traditional storefront systems or a desire to restore the building to feature a traditional storefront system for walk-in retail business tenants, may be eligible. Former automotive, gas stations, industrial buildings, mixed use developments, new construction and exclusively residential properties are not eligible.
Building Condition- owner must agree to address any code violation and/or structural issues as part of the SRP scope.
Business/Building Use- Buildings featuring walk-in customer traffic from main street may be eligible. Certain business uses are prohibited, such as exclusive/private clubs or membership-based activities, schools, churches, age-restricted product shops (smoke shops, liquor stores, etc.), exclusively residential and manufacturing businesses are examples of non-eligible business uses.
Eligible Costs
Eligible costs for the Building Program include rehabilitation costs for work done to the main elevation(s), visible from main street. Examples of eligible costs include; storefront windows, masonry repair, painting, awnings and signage for occupied storefronts.
Application Fee: $75.00
Minimum Equity Requirement
Applicant must invest a minimum investment of $10,000 (excluding permit fees).
Maximum Assistance: $50,000
Rebate Terms
A 50% Rebate up to a $50,000 maximum rebate for work performed AFTER applicant has entered into a fully executed Rebate Agreement with the City of Cleveland. Any costs incurred for work performed prior to the Rebate Agreement or outside of the scope of work defined in the Rebate Agreement will not be eligible for SRP Rebate funds.
How to Apply
Please complete an Interest Form and your Neighborhood Investment Manager will be in touch!