Downtown Living Above LG?

City Trying to Encourage Loft Apartments Though Grant Program

During a report at Monday’s city council meeting, La Grange Community Development Director Stacey Norris mentioned a little-known program that could help spur downtown development in a big way: the City’s second-floor redevelopment grant.

The program offers downtown property owners up to $30,000 to redevelop secondfloor spaces into loft apartments. The grant provides up to $7,500 per housing unit with a maximum of four units.

Grant funds can be used for electrical and plumbing upgrades, utility connections, heat and air conditioning systems, structural upgrades, systems to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), interior walls, ceilings, floors, doors, molding, energy efficiency systems, countertops, cabinets, sinks and tubs.

“The program came about after Hurricane Harvey, because we were completely impacted with a housing shortage,” Norris said in an interview on Wednesday.

Norris said Bastrop, Nacadoches and Waxahachie have similar programs that have encouraged development downtown. No one here has applied for the grant since La Grange launched the program in 2018.

“We haven’t had any takers, which we’ve been bummed about,” Norris said. “We feel it would alleviate some of the need we have with housing. Plus, it would be really cool to live downtown. I think it could spur nightlife and other activity after 5 p.m.”

Learn more about the second-floor grant program and other City incentives at http://www.cityoflg.com/tourism/main_street/grant_incentive_