SHARON, Pa. - The City of Sharon has announced two new grant programs on Thursday. One for business facades and another for sandwich boards, both for businesses that are currently open in the city.

The program runs through the municipality's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and will provide funding to businesses to assist with facade improvements and marketing outreach.

The goal of the program is to improve real estate property aesthetics, create unified character and drive visitation and business through curb appeal.

"These can include signage, shutters, doors, downspouts, paintings, awnings, lighting [and] accessibility among other things," said Sharon CDBG Program Manager Suzanne Kepple. 

Kepple says other facade projects outside of that scope could still be considered depending on the project.

Kepple says the funding comes from CDBG allocations approved for the 2021 program year and adds that the sandwich board program is a component of that activity.

The facade grant program was created in collaboration with the Sharon Community Development Corporation (SCDC), a non-profit former per the Sharon business leadership visioning retreat held in March of 2022, where attendees specified wanting to see visible, impactful changes highlighted by programs such as these.

The facade grant is up to $5,000 with a matching requirement of 25% of the project.

The sandwich board grant would help provide visible awareness of the open hours of the businesses in Sharon. This grant is up to $500 with no match required.