City of Chester offers eligible business owners up to $50,000 to beautify their facades

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The city of Chester is offering business owners along Avenue of the States up to $50,000 to beautify the face of their buildings.

The Facade Enhancement Initiative (FEI) is designed to elevate the aesthetics of the city’s central business district and fulfill promises first-term Mayor Stefan Roots made in June’s state of the city address.

Funding for the project comes by way of leftover American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

“We’ve needed to use a lot of that money to keep the city afloat, to do a lot of capital programs within the city with so much deferred maintenance,” Roots said. “But it was only fair to the community itself, particularly our business community and the people who enjoy a rejuvenated downtown, to invest some money.”

The city is granting priority to minority- and women-owned businesses. City project manager Sean Chin described this first phase as a pilot. The FEI application period ends July 31.

“We have a contractor, a 3D rendering as well as an architect that has been awarded for the program and they’ll be going out to the different properties to see specifically what improvements can be made within the facade,” Chin said.

Chester officials have long yearned for a “Main Street” resurgence. In recent months, Roots has underscored that dream with a desire to leverage the bankrupt city’s position as a college town to drive traffic into the business district. Roots said there’s already a growing arts scene in Chester.

“The next step to making this a real attractive downtown is to make it very attractive to look at as you’re walking up and down the street or driving up and down the street — and that’s what the facade improvement project is all about,” Roots said.

The first phase of the project focuses specifically on the 400 and 500 blocks of Avenue of the States, which is home to the Delaware County Historical Society. Roots said this area is the “heart” of Chester’s business district.

“We’re not waiting for anybody,” Roots said. “We put our money where our mouth is.”

Starting in 2025, approved shops would begin storefront reconstruction, signage upgrades, new paint jobs and lighting enhancements. The city has set the end of 2026 as the target completion date for all projects.

Considering the city’s financial failings, Roots said future investment into this facade initiative would need a significant boost from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). Former Gov. Tom Wolf declared the city of Chester financially distressed in 2020 and tasked a state-appointed receiver from DCED to rescue the city’s purse. The receiver filed for bankruptcy on behalf of the city in 2022.

Chin said a successful execution of this program would ideally serve as proof of concept. Interested property owners can contact the city for more information about FEI.