EVERETT, JAN. 14: Last year 11 Everett businesses upgraded their building facades and storefronts thanks to a Storefront Enhancement Grant from the Downtown Everett Association (DEA).
In 2022 The Storefront Enhancement Grant was funded by the Everett Forward Grant program, created by the Everett City Council. In 2023, councilmember Paula Rhyne allocated some of her city council American Rescue Plan Act funds (ARPA) to the enhancement program.
“I was thinking of ways to help small business owners that had been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 to get back on their feet,” Rhyne said,” When I found out about the Storefront Grant, I thought it would be a great way to utilize my ARPA money and support DEA.”
Each Everett city councilmember has received $200,000 in ARPA funds to allocate at their discretion, within the spending guidelines.
In total the Storefront Grant has provided 21 businesses with improvements from fresh coats of paint, lighting improvements, new signage, outdoor seating and more.
“Our mission is to advance a vibrant and thriving downtown. And one of the many ways to do that is creating a vibrant pedestrian experience, and bringing more light, freshness to the storefronts,” DEA Executive Director Liz Stenning said.
In 2022 the DEA hired a consultant to give a workshop on how to improve storefronts and interiors to 10 different businesses, Stenning said.
“We selected the 10 and it was two full days of them [the consultants] visiting these places, and we got these reports, and it was super exciting because some of these businesses were really ready to make some improvements,” Stenning said, “But at the time we didn’t have any dollars to offer, the businesses did that themselves.”
In an effort to support innovative ideas and solutions to move Everett’s economy forward, the city created the Everett Forward Grant Program in 2021. The DEA applied for the grant and received $58,000 to put towards their Storefront Enhancement Grant.
Businesses could apply for up to $5,000 and would receive a 50/50 match on the projects.
For The Dance School, located at 2821 Rockefeller, the upgrades have helped advertise their business more effectively.
“This unique gift has already shown its value in our increased enrollment numbers, and new recent partnership opportunities with other community nonprofits,” Megen Nachreiner, President of The Dance School said.
In 2023, councilmember Rhyne allocated $25,000 of her ARPA funds to the Storefront Enhancement Program. Small businesses are “near and dear” to Rhyne since her father was a small business owner himself.
“I knew that it [ARPA allocation] would go a long way and have a multiplier effect on bringing more business downtown, bringing more traffic, and just helping with the overall quality of life and excitement downtown,” Rhyne said.
The businesses that received improvements this year include:
- The North Sound Tower; new blade signs on several ground floor businesses along Colby Ave
- Petrikor; neon window sign and outdoor planters
- Star Mini Mart; upgraded awning and new storefront sign
- Banya; new signage and lighting
- The Loft Coffee Bar; new signage, sign lighting
- 2923 Rucker Ave; tuckpointed brick, a new door, and a paint job
- Apollo Exos Records; removed old tile, painted the facade, replaced cracked window, updated the awning, and replaced the window sign
- The Everett Public Market; new paint color job
- Shabaijai Thai; added seating for outdoor dining, new exterior sign and window logo
The DEA hopes to continue the Storefront Enhancement Program in 2025, with applications opening in the coming months.
Examples of upgrades posted on the Downtown Everett Association Facebook Page.