A FACADE Improvement Incentive Program is being made available to local businesses, aiming to incentivise business and property owners to improve their shopfronts.
Grants of up to 50 per cent of the eligible works are available.
For shopfronts up to and including 12 metres long, up to $3,000 is available. For shopfronts over 12 metres, up to $5,000 is available.
Of this, $500 can be attributed to landscaping.
Eligible applicants include landlords and/or business owners in Bowen, Proserpine, Collinsville and Airlie Beach, who perform eligible works on commercial properties.
Eligible works include lighting, redecorating exterior walls, upgrades to windows and doors, enhancing entrance ways of shops, awning and canopies, exterior architectural and or artistic features.
It also includes landscaping (to a maximum of $500), facade painting and murals, removal of cladding from presently concealed historic character building, reinstatement of lost elements or fabric to the facade of the building, signage, and any combination of the above.
The grants will only be available to the sections of the building that are visible to the street, helping to improve the aesthetic of the Whitsundays.
Applicants must submit ‘before’ photos of the proposed building with the completed application and must submit two formal quotes from local licenced contractors for the proposed works.
The business must be able show how the project will benefit the building’s presentation.
Works to heritage listed buildings must obtain the necessary permits prior to works commencing.
Shopfronts facing laneways are ineligible for funding, as are businesses that have outstanding fees and charges to council.
Only one grant application can be lodged per business/individual shopfront; however, a number of business owners may jointly make a combined application.
