At the end of 2020, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. selected four businesses to receive grants for façade improvements through their Business Façade pARTnership Grant. ABI is now seeking quotes from the artist and maker community to pair with one of the businesses to create an artistic façade.
Launched in 2019, the program invites businesses to apply for capital improvements to the façade of their business site to be designed and executed by a local artist or maker professional. The program is designed to catalyze revitalization of commercial districts within the BeltLine Tax Allocation District while showcasing a business’ proximity to the Atlanta BeltLine and attracting new tenants, investment, and customers to the district. The program also provides work opportunities for Atlanta’s artist and maker community.
The selected businesses for the 2020-2021 program include:
- AfterGlow Makeup Studio at 818 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard
- Pegleg Studio / eyedrum / Moisture Love at 515 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard
- CreateATL / Beam Imagination at 900 Murphy Avenue
- Carver Market / Community Grounds at 1297 Jonesboro Road
Each business will outline their vision and goals for their façades. Artist partners are encouraged to submit quotes for multiple business façade improvement project sites, but they will only be selected for one project site.
Quotes can showcase the business’ proximity to the BeltLine by providing a new BeltLine-facing façade, implementing a COVID-related adaptation to the storefront, or other façade improvement resulting in the attraction of new tenants, investment, and customers to the districts. Project quotes will be reviewed by subject-matter experts from ABI with input from the business partner.
The application period is open through 5 p.m. Feb. 8. Guidelines, scope, and forms can be downloaded at www.beltline.org/facadegrant.
Grants could be up to $40,000 and will vary depending on the cost to implement the approved capital improvement design.
Below is the anticipated timeline for the full 2020-2021 Business Façade pARTnership Grant:
- January 2021: artist scopes created and posted
- January 21, 2021: artist partner info event
- February 2021: artist partner selection process and agreements executed
- March 2021: final design concepts completed and permitting begins
- April / May 2021: finish permitting and project sites go into construction
- June 2021: project sites complete
