A beautiful community instills pride in its residents and attracts visitors. That’s why Sussex and the Sussex Downtown Business Association have created the Downtown Façade Improvement Assistance Program. This exciting initiative offers financial assistance to help eligible buildings enhance their street-facing facades.
The commercial property’s appearance speaks volumes about your business. An attractive facade can increase foot traffic, boost property values, and contribute to a vibrant commercial district.
We want to help you make impactful improvements to your building’s appearance. Approved applicants will receive funding support to transform their storefronts. A grant of 50% of the eligible labour and material costs, up to a maximum of $5,800.00 may be supplied by Sussex and the DBA for facade improvements.
Available to owners of commercial buildings within the Business Improvement Area (BIA) in the municipality of Sussex with commercial ground floor, overlooking a street. Tenants are encouraged to work together with their building owners to submit an application if they are interested in this program.
Eligible components include: design consultant fees, exterior cladding (including painting, siding and trim board) of the storefront, replacement or upgrades (repair) of windows and/or doors, upgrades to lighting, signage, decking, as well as updating building accessibility for persons with a disability (see Appendix C – Ability NB infographic). NOTE: Landscaping can be considered as part of a larger building improvement project.
Online Applications open January 1 of each year, and will be accepted until the second Friday of February, on the proviso that the project can be fully executed by October 31.
Sussex Planning & Development staff will review your applications to confirm completeness and eligibility. All applicants will be advised, in writing, of the review decision and, if successful, will be moved to the next step.