More business owners located downtown or interested in moving downtown could soon have more incentive to spruce up their buildings.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Odessa Development Corporation board unanimously voted to expand the geographic area eligible for infrastructure grants of up to $200,000 and facade grants of up to $25,000.
Right now, “Tier 1” businesses located between North Sam Houston and North Hancock Avenue and West Eighth Street and East Second Street are eligible for the grants.
If the city council endorses the ODC’s recommendations, the boundaries for those grants will expand to North Washington Avenue and North Tom Green Avenue and from West Ninth Street to West 1st Street.
The ODC also eliminated “Tier 3” and “Tier 4,” meaning all businesses between Bernice Avenue and Adams Avenue and from West 10th Street to West 1st Street would be considered “Tier 2” businesses and therefore eligible for infrastructure grants of up to $150,000 and facade grants of up to $18,750.
Downtown Odessa Executive Director Casey Hallmark had originally recommended the board expand “Tier 1’s” geography, but board member Chris Cole suggested eliminating the outer tiers for simplicity’s sake, noting all four tiers are considered downtown anyway.
Hallmark told the board she doesn’t think the ODC has ever received a grant request from a Tier 3 or Tier 4 business. Downtown Odessa has really been focused on Tier 1, particularly along Grant Avenue, she said.
“I think the emphasis was intended originally to be the main corridor of downtown and really getting that rehabbed and brought up to code and encourage economic development in that core area. We’re getting there. A lot of those businesses or buildings have participated in the grant,” Hallmark said.
By expanding Tier 1, Hallmark said the thought is they’ll “drum up” more interest in the grants.
“I think this is an enticing opportunity for potential investors to come in and now spread out a little bit more,” Hallmark said.
In other business, the board voted to terminate a Workforce Housing Infrastructure Program due to lack of interest. For the past few years, ODC has been offering grants to developers to pay for a portion of housing infrastructure costs in the hopes of making housing more affordable for the Odessa workforce.
However, city staff told the board Wednesday only $70,000 in grants have been awarded, leaving roughly $4.9 million available.
Last week ODC Chairman David Boutin said the board will discuss other potential programs in lieu of the housing infrastructure program.
