City’s grant program awards $37K for Prairie Village home renovation projects

An end-of-the-year report on Prairie Village’s exterior grant program finds that $34,319.58 in city funds have gone to support 16 home improvement projects in the city, with the residents of the homes investing an additional $149,000.

The program, started in 2008, provides a grant of 20 percent of the improvement costs on construction projects of at least $5,000 for approved applicants, though grants cannot exceed $2,500.

The city had $50,000 budgeted for the program in 2011, and additional costs may be attributed to that budget of reimbursement requests come in from grantees. The city spent a total of $42, 360.52 on the program in 2009, and $37,024.30 in 2010. The money come from the city’s Economic Development Fund.

To be eligible to receive a grant, a homeowner must live in one of three designated areas (see inset map). The areas were outlined to include the neighborhoods were code infraction citations are most frequently issued, said assistant city administrator Dennis Enslinger.

Here are before and after photos of one of the homes that received a grant in 2011: