Collage via Photojoiner // Photos courtesy of the city of Sugar Land
Sugar Land property owners can apply to receive up to thousands of dollars from the city to redesign and refurbish their home exteriors and improve commercial properties.
The city southwest of Houston is setting aside $500,000 for its commercial revitalization grant program. It will provide up to 20% reimbursements for improvements to commercial properties that have at least 15,000 square feet available for lease and are 20 years or older.
Sugar Land also is offering grants through its “Great Homes Update and Design” programs for the third year in a row to single-family homeowners who live in the city’s limits.
The commercial revitalization program is in its first year and will be funded by city sales taxes. The city is looking to incentivize projects such as new “public open spaces” along with initiatives that promote walkability or update building exteriors and provide additional parking.
“We wanted to just get something out there and see what we could entice – and really start to create that redevelopment environment that Sugar Land needs,” said Jessica Huble, assistant director of the city’s Department of Redevelopment. “Because we want to make inviting places for our residents and we want the shopping centers within their neighborhoods to really speak to them.”
The Great Homes design program provides discounts to homeowners and homeowners associations to work with companies to create renderings of potential home exterior redesigns. Individual homeowners who “substantially implement” an improvement to the outside of their home after participating in the program can receive a rebate of up to $500.
The Great Homes update program reimburses homeowners for significant exterior home improvement projects. They can qualify for a reimbursement of up to 10% of their renovation costs, with a maximum payment of $10,000, if they have an eligible home improvement project totaling $8,000 or more.
Homeowners with projects totaling at least $4,000 can receive up to a 25% reimbursement, also capped at $10,000, if their home was built in 1993 or earlier and its value is less than $455,952.
All projects must go through an approval process with the city. The program will not provide reimbursements to homeowners who start or complete the projects before going through the application process and signing an agreement with the city.
This year, the city hopes to fund at least 100 projects through its design and update grant programs. Money for these initiatives comes from the city’s general fund.
Local leaders also hope the program can help modernize homes as the city ages.
Jon Soriano, the senior community development coordinator for the city, said 70% of Sugar Land’s single-family homes were built before 2000.
“We really want to create some housing options for new young families that want to move into the city,” he said.
Soriano said city leaders are looking to spur redevelopment in the area through the grant programs.
“Sugar Land is an older city and we’re kind of at a crossroads in our life cycle due to a lot of social and economic and demographic factors,” he said. “… Given these factors, we’ve been tasked by our leadership and city council to come up with programs to address these things and to help initiate the redevelopment and reinvestment in the city.”
Applications and full eligibility requirements for the commercial revitalization and Great Homes programs can be found on the city’s website.
