Applications Available, City of Albany Small Business Facade Improvement Program Spring Funding Window

May 7, 2019

VIEW PRESS RELEASE

 

Applications are now available as part of the City of Albany Small Business Facade Improvement Program’s third-round spring funding window with an additional $100,000 in matching grants being made available to support small business owners citywide. The program can provide matching grants up to $10,000 to small businesses and/or commercial property owners for exterior renovations.

Program Applications & Guidelines Available Here

The application window will close on June 6, concluding the program’s third round. If you have questions regarding the program, please contact our office at [email protected]. An informational flier is also available here.

Program and City leaders were joined by Prinzo’s Bakery owners Joe and Philomena Prinzo, the Albany Community Development Agency, the City of Albany Capital Resource Corporation and Capitalize Albany to announce the program’s additional matching grant opportunities on May 7 at Prinzo’s Bakery, 344 Delaware Avenue in Albany. The announcement was made outside the storefront where work on the bakery’s facade is nearing completion.

This long-standing Albany business received second-round program funds to replace the existing siding on the building, an awning, and new signage. In addition to added vibrancy, the awning enhances the entrance’s safety by helping to prevent slick conditions in times of inclement weather.

Located on Delaware Avenue since 1978, Prinzo’s Bakery is well-known for its Italian loaves of bread and hard rolls. Prinzo’s bread is delivered to many restaurants, delis, and sandwich shops within a 20-mile radius of Albany, and serves as the daily bread for a number of local establishments. A family-owned business, Prinzo’s has called Albany its home for nearly 60 years, having first begun in the South End on Grand Street in 1960. It later expanded its product line to include donuts, opening Prinzo’s Dandy Donuts on Madison Avenue. Soon after, the business moved to Delaware Avenue, and 40 years later — it is still a staple of the Delaware Avenue neighborhood.  

The Small Business Facade Improvement program is a matching grant program that helps small businesses throughout the City reinvest in their properties. Previous rounds of this small business program have been tremendously successful. To date the program has leveraged more than $500,000 in new investment. Administered by Capitalize Albany Corporation, the Small Business Facade Improvement Program is made possible by the City of Albany Capital Resource Corporation and the Albany Community Development Agency.