2012 PV exterior grant program incentivized nearly $250K in home improvement spending

This house in Area 1 was among those that received a grant to spur exterior improvements in 2012.

Prairie Village administrators credit a grant program launched in 2008 with helping spur nearly $250,000 in exterior home improvements in certain pockets of the city in 2012.

The city’s exterior grant program provides grants of 20 percent of the cost of exterior home improvement projects totaling at least $5,000. Eligible homeowners can receive between $1,000 and $2,500 in reimbursements for approved projects.

A recent recap of the program’s execution in 2012 found the city had awarded a total of $39,251.64 to 25 approved grant projects. The Prairie Village homeowners who received the grants invested an additional $233,956.93 of their own money. That total investment of $273,208.57 is up considerably from the $184,127.24 associated with the program in 2011.

Projects awarded grants under the program include landscaping, window replacement, roof installation, painting, and more. The city has made the grant program available in three “zones,” which cover areas primarily in Wards 2,3 and 6 on the eastern and western edges of the city.