Celebrity Carwash in LaSalle Gardens.
Louisiana Creole Gumbo in the Bagley neighborhood. Lopez Tire Repair Service in Springwells Village. All these businesses and 41 more have been announced recipients of the city of Detroit's first round of Motor City Re-Store grants.
In total, $330,000 has been awarded to the 44 businesses and another $519,000 has been earmarked for future construction projects. More than 30 neighborhoods are represented in the first ever round of grant recipients.
The Motor City Re-Store grants function as a way to lend a hand to business owners who already call Detroit home. While the city's Motor City Match program exists to encourage entrepreneurs to build in the city, the Re-Store grants aim to help those already here.
The grants are to be used toward the design and construction of upgrades to business facades, landscaping, and other exterior improvements. Matching construction grants are awarded at up to $25,000 per business and design grants are awarded at up to $10,000.
Royalty Dance Studio in the Morningside neighborhood was one such recipient, having been awarded $7,500 to make improvements to their building's exterior.
"Royalty is a real community resource for the neighborhood," says owner Howard Brown. "We are excited to be able to remove old signage and make other improvements that will show off Royalty and the surrounding area on East Warren as a great community."
According to officials from the Motor City Re-Store program, 70 percent of the grant-winning businesses are minority-owned, and 43 percent are women-owned.
While the application window for round two has already closed, the third round opened Dec. 1 and will close Jan. 1, 2018.
Click here to learn more about the Motor City Re-Store application process.
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