Burgaw and Warsaw - Facade Grants

The towns of Burgaw and Warsaw were selected by the North Carolina Downtown Development Association to receive the 2010 NCDDA Facade Grant Award. These towns were selected out of 14 applications from towns throughout the state. In recognition of their outstanding applications, which highlighted each town’s commitment to downtown revitalization and historic preservation, Burgaw received $3,500 and Warsaw received $2,500. In addition to the monetary award, which is designated for assisting property owners with the rehabilitation of their building facades, the Towns also were awarded site visits and technical assistance to assist property owners develop plans for using the grant funds.

On August 11th and 12th, a volunteer team from NCDDA consisting of Randy Hemann, Executive Director of Downtown Salisbury, Gray Stout, AIA with Stout Studio Architecture, and Jason Epley, AICP with Benchmark led citizens through a design session and explained the building rehabilitation process utilizing the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for historic preservation. The team worked with ten property owners, providing advice and guidance for preserving their historic downtown buildings and renovating the facades. The two-day visit helped raise awareness of historic preservation issues, the importance of historic downtown buildings to the community as a whole, and the federal and state tax benefits that can be obtained when historic properties in a National Register district are improved in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's standards.

The visits have already produced results, with several property owners in each town filling applications for façade improvement funds. Given the success of the inaugural grant program, NCDDA will be announcing a facade improvement workshop this fall and anticipates holding a second award competition next year. For more information on the program, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .