Businesses in the Kearny Urban Enterprise Zone may soon be able to get major façade facelifts — with grants of up to $15,000 to fund the improvements.
The UEZ has launched the Kearny Storefront Project, a new grant program to help Kearny business owners to upgrade the exterior of storefronts. The grant program is completely funded by the UEZ.
The grants, of up to $15,000 per business, are being awarded to cover design and construction of façade improvements.
“Many businesses have the vision to upgrade their exteriors but simply do not have the capital needed for these kinds of impactful improvements, “Linda Kraus D’Isa, KUEZ coordinator, said. “By providing these grants, the KUEZ is supporting local business, while making our town’s commercial districts more inviting and competitive.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Carol Jean Doyle says she’s happy the program, which has been in the planning stages for some time, is finally coming to fruition.
“We are committed to making Kearny a better place to own a business — and making store fronts more appealing is very important to me,” Doyle said. “I know Linda has been preparing this program for a while now, so I am pleased to see it come to life. Being able to award grants of up to $15,000 to UEZ members to make these improvements is part of our commitment to doing the town’s part to make Kearny much more attractive and appealing. I hope many member businesses apply since opportunities like this are rare but critical.”
Eligible improvements
The Kearny Storefront Project grant funds may be applied toward a variety of exterior upgrades for eligible businesses — signage and awnings, exterior lighting fixtures and electrical work, exterior painting and architectural restoration, window and door replacement, front glass graphics, display design and exterior furniture and decor among other improvements.
To apply for the Kearny Storefront Project, businesses must be an active KUEZ member, a registered business in the State of New Jersey and be in good standing with all local and state taxes and regulations.
To apply and for full grant guidelines, visit www.kearnynj.org/storefrontfacade.
For more information and to learn how to become a KUEZ member, contact D’Isa at ldisa@kearnynj.org.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.