Baton Rouge Front Door Refresh Grant

The Front Door Refresh Grant provides small businesses and commercial property owners along Baton Rouge's Plank Road Corridor with grants of up to $10,000 per storefront to fund exterior façade and site improvements that make storefronts more attractive, accessible, and inviting. Administered by Build East Baton Rouge (Build EBR), the East Baton Rouge Parish Redevelopment Authority, the program was launched through the JPMorgan Chase AdvancingCities initiative and advances the vision of the Reimagine Plank Road Master Plan. Grants may cover up to 100 percent of eligible façade improvement costs, subject to program caps, design approval, and funding availability, with award amounts varying based on corridor priority, project impact, and alignment with redevelopment goals. Shopping centers or multi-tenant buildings may receive multiple awards for improvements to distinct storefronts.

To qualify, applicants must be either the owner of a commercial building or a small business owner occupying a storefront within an eligible building (with written authorization from the property owner). Small businesses are defined as independently owned with fewer than 100 employees. Properties must be located within designated Target Areas, with the current initial phase focused on properties between North 22nd Street and Clayton Street along Plank Road, and broader eligibility extending to Build EBR's emphasized redevelopment corridors including Plank Road, Scenic Highway, Florida Boulevard, and the Cortana Corridor Economic Development District (CCEDD). Property taxes must be current, applicants must have no past-due debts to the City-Parish, and buildings must meet applicable City-Parish health and safety standards. Eligible expenses include signage (removal, design, fabrication, installation, or renovation), awnings and canopies, building façade improvements (masonry cleaning, painting, woodwork restoration, window and door replacement, and other exterior repairs), walls, screening, fencing, and landscaping (to soften or conceal storage areas, workspaces, or dumpsters), removal of inappropriate façade coverings (vinyl or aluminum cladding, boarded windows), cladding removal and restoration, permanent site and parking area improvements (landscaping, limited paving repairs, restriping), exterior accessibility improvements (ADA entrances, ramps, door modifications), and reasonable architectural or design fees (contracted after the grant award date).

Grantees must agree to a five-year maintenance commitment as a condition of funding, and Build EBR may record a lien or restrictive covenant against the property to secure compliance, with a prorated repayment required if improvements are removed, altered, or neglected within the five-year period. Grant funds are typically issued directly to qualified contractors, and applicants must submit three cost estimates from separate qualified construction companies as part of the application process. Labor performed by the business or property owner themselves is not eligible for reimbursement.