[Adopted 8-8-2011 by Ord. No. 11-26]
A.
The Board of Trustees shall implement and oversee a facade improvement
program to promote the continued use and maintenance of commercial
buildings in the Village and to recommend granting incentives to business
property owners for improvements to their building facades. The purpose
of this program is to increase assessed valuation within the Village's
Core Area as established by the Village's Comprehensive Plan. Business
owners must be located within the Core Area to be eligible for consideration.
The facade improvement program shall be administered as follows:
(1)
Grant eligibility. To be eligible for a facade improvement grant, a building must be used in whole or in part for retail or other commercial purposes. Business property owners who have operated within Coal City in excess of five years and determined by the Village Board of Trustees to be in good standing with the Village must propose to make at least $10,000 in eligible improvements, as defined in Subsection A(3), to be eligible for a facade improvement grant.
(2)
Limit and nature of grant award.
(a)
Program incentives shall not exceed the annual amount made available
within the Village's annual fiscal budget, determined by the Village
Board of Trustees.
(b)
Facade improvement grants shall provide interest-free money
for a maximum of 36 months after the authorization of the Village
Board of Trustees. The interest accrued shall be deferred for the
first 60 months. At the conclusion of thirty-six-month initial period,
the grant must be repaid with additional interest according to the
standards set forth below:
|
Principal Repayment Period
(months)
|
Interest Rate
| |
|---|---|---|
|
0 to 36
|
0.00%
| |
|
36 to 48
|
Prime + 1.0%
| |
|
48 to 60
|
Prime + 1.5%
| |
|
60 to 66
|
Prime + 3.50% and deferred interest
| |
|
66 to 72
|
Prime + 7.00% and deferred interest
| |
|
84 to 96
|
Prime + 10.00% and deferred interest
|
[1]
Interest is deferred during the first sixty-month period and
shall not be collected if the principal and any applicable interest
is repaid prior to expiration of the initial sixty-month period. After
the expiration of this period, interest shall be charged on the whole
remaining principal and shall continue to be accrued on a monthly
basis. The interest deferred during the initial thirty-six-month period
shall be charged at the effective rate at the time the interest is
added.
[2]
Any portion of principal and/or interest remaining unpaid after
96 months' time shall be considered as a default on the initial grant
of principal. The Village may collect on this remaining portion as
allowable under the applicable laws of Illinois.
(c)
Facade improvement program grants shall be administered by a
bank located within Grundy or Will County via a construction drawdown
account. Prior to receiving payment, the owner or contractor must
submit to an inspection by the bank, subject to review by Village
staff, of all eligible costs and must provide proof of paid receipts,
contractor and subcontractor sworn statements, and all applicable
lien waivers. Contractor and subcontractor sworn statements shall
provide evidence of work being completed utilizing labor at prevailing
wages for Coal City.
(3)
Eligible costs. The following improvement costs are eligible for
reimbursement from the facade improvement grant:
(a)
Installation, repair, and replacement of exterior exit doors
to provide public access, meet current building and fire codes, and/or
improve the overall appearance of the building;
(b)
Painting of the exterior of the building;
(c)
Repair, replacement, or addition of exterior shutters and awnings,
except for backlit and/or plastic awnings;
(d)
Repair and replacement of signs;
(e)
Repair, replacement, and installation of exterior stairs, porches,
railings, and exit facilities;
(f)
Repair and rebuilding of exterior walls, including cleaning,
sealing, tuck-pointing, painting, etc.;
(g)
Tuck pointing, other repair and cleaning of exterior bricks;
(h)
Repair of windows, frames, sills, glazing, replacement of glass,
and installation of new windows;
(i)
Repair or construction of cornices in order to replicate the
building's original facade;
(j)
Repair, installation, replacement, or addition of any other
improvement the Village Administrator deems appropriate; and
(k)
Other actions, aside from the aforementioned eligible costs,
which have been determined by the Board of Trustees to increase the
overall assessed valuation of the property.
B.
Application and required submittals. Applicants under this section
shall submit the following application materials to the Village Board
of Trustees via the method set forth below:
(1)
One completed original application, on a form approved by and provided
by the Village Administrator or his designee, which form shall include:
(a)
Applicant's name, address, and contact information;
(b)
Subject property common address and property identification
number;
(c)
Legal description of subject property;
(d)
Current use of the property;
(e)
Improvement information, including, without limitation:
[1]
Contractor information, including registration compliance;
[2]
Cost estimate;
[3]
Facade area;
[4]
Requested amount of grant;
[5]
Proposed improvements;
[6]
Copies of the drawings of the proposed work, to scale and preferably
in color;
[7]
Brief narrative description of the project to include a listing
of the materials to be utilized;
(f)
Pictures of facade and particular areas to be enhanced;
(g)
Assessed value of the property; and
(h)
A proof of security in the amount of 5% of the total project
deposited with a qualified bank intended to be utilized for administration
of this loan.
C.
Application review and approval process.
(1)
Upon the Village Administrator's receipt of application materials,
he or she shall forward the facade improvement plan for consideration
by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall consider
the improvement as it relates to meeting the standards set forth within
applicable design standards.
(2)
The Planning Commission shall make a determination as to the project's
compliance with applicable design standards and forward its recommendation
of approval or denial to the Village Board of Trustees.
(3)
Upon receipt of the Planning Commission's recommendation, the Board
of Trustees shall convene a public meeting to consider the application
and the Planning Commission's recommendation, as well as a draft facade
improvement grant agreement. The application and facade improvement
agreement shall be approved by resolution duly adopted in order for
the incentive to be provided.
D.
Conditions. The applicant shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1)
Upon approval of the application, the applicant shall enter into
a facade improvement grant agreement with the Village of Coal City,
the form and substance of which is acceptable to the Village Attorney,
and to be provided by the Village Administrator, which shall govern
the use of the grant. The agreement shall be recorded with the Office
of the Grundy County Recorder of Deeds.
(2)
Should the applicant fail to repay the Village or otherwise abandon
the property before completion of the eligible cost items, the Village
shall have a lien against the property in its favor in the amount
of the facade improvement grant released to the applicant.
(3)
Administrative fee payment. Upon approval of the application, the
Village shall collect an administrative fee consisting of two parts.
The first part is a base fee of $250. The second portion of the administrative
fee shall be determined by the size of the total award. Utilizing
the most recent Federal Reserve data for the six-month certificate
of deposit rate, this rate shall be multiplied by the principal to
be borrowed and multiplied by the total years included within the
initial interest-free term. This amount, in addition to the base fee,
shall be received by the Village prior to the final recording of the
agreement.
|
For example, considering the following conditions, the total
administrative fee would be $497.50.
| |||
|
Estimate of project
|
$25,000
| ||
|
Fed Reserve six-month CD rate
|
0.33%
| ||
|
Years within the initial term
|
3
| ||
|
25,000 x 0.0033 x 3 = 247.50
| |||
|
Base administration fee
|
$250
| ||
|
Total example administration fee
|
$497.50
| ||
(4)
Any business owners who receive facade improvement funds due to approval by the Board of Trustees, according to the standards set forth within this § 37-30, and repay the principal prior to the expiration of the initial thirty-six-month period shall receive reimbursement of the base administrative fee of $250 due to the successful completion of the terms set forth within the facade improvement agreement.
