CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – First impressions for a business can mean everything, but that’s why the Town of Christiansburg has a program where if a business owner wants to fix up the outside of their old business, the town will match the cost up to $5,000.
The Town of Christiansburg has already had the façade program available for businesses downtown, but recently they extended it to the entire town.
“As long as you are in town limits and meet the requirements, then you are potentially eligible for help,” said Christina Bolt, public relations director for the town.
She said that this program, could help the businesses who need extra support, and improve the look of the area.
“Being able to have a good first impression on the outside of your building, make sure that it is upgraded and inviting, is going to help the business owner and the town as a whole,” Bolt said.
I then went to talk to some of the businesses around town about the program.
Electrical Supply Inc. utilized the façade program recently, and they said it helped them accomplish more than they anticipated.
“I was able to get a lot more done than I had planned on,” said Doug Ashworth, owner of Electrical Supply Inc. “I had already been planning to paint the front, and then this came up, so I immediately applied for it.”
I then talked to another business owner who had not heard of the program, but he said now that he knows, he is definitely going to see if his business is eligible.
“Having the town help out would just allow us to grab that much further and make our business look that much better,” said Ben Helton with Buddy Electric.
They said they would be excited to see some of the local businesses in town get this extra support.
If you want to find out if you are eligible for this, you can find more information on the program here.