Grant received
Published 6:41 pm Saturday, March 17, 2007
By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The City of Niles received confirmation Friday from the State of Michigan of the formal completion of its Downtown Revitalization Project.
The notice means Niles will avoid having to pay back $1.7 million it borrowed for improvements made downtown. Director of Niles Main Street Lisa Croteau said the city has worked diligently in the last year to meet the requirements of the agreement.
"It's really wonderful to have this behind us. It was a great opportunity," Croteau said. "If we hadn't had it we wouldn't have gotten all the work done we have today. Thanks to everyone who made it happen."
Niles entered an agreement in 2002 with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to obtain a $1.7 million Community Development Block Grant from local foundations, the state of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Under the agreement, Niles pledged the creation of 39 new jobs, at least 51 percent of which had to be held by low- and moderate-income individuals.
The deadline to meet the job amount was extended twice. A similar agreement with the state gave Niles a separate grant for creating 13 jobs on Front Street, most of which came from Riverfront Caf/.
The funds, along with city resources, were used to restore historic building facades and develop a new streetscape on Main Street between Front and Fifth streets.
In satisfying the agreement, a total of 42 full time equivalent positions were created, with 33 positions held by low- and moderate-income individuals. On Friday, Niles received a certificate of completion from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which indicated that the job requirement had been satisfied and no repayment would be required.
"We're thrilled with the prospect of having this project officially concluded. We feel that we've satisfied the terms of the grant and the most important thing is the state does too," said Juan Ganum, Niles community development director.