Beautify the Borough: Introduction & Guidelines

The Borough of Spring Grove would like to announce the third year of the BEAUTIFY THE BOROUGH Façade Improvement Program. The program was originally designed to improve the visual appearance of Spring Grove on Main Street and eventually the entire borough. We’re pleased to announce that this year’s program will expand beyond Main Street. Residents and businesses on Main Street, Water Street, and East Street will now be eligible to take advantage of this opportunity! Many towns in Pennsylvania have similar programs, and they are all different in nature depending on the goals of the town. They are commonly referred to as “Main Street” or “Keystone Community” Programs. We call ours BEAUTIFY THE BOROUGH.  

This is one small step in a much larger effort to improve the overall economic development of Spring Grove. We were unable to obtain grants for this program, so the budget is still modest. This will be a straight-forward facade improvement program along Main Street from Pixelle to the traffic circle, Water Street, and East Street. It will include both residential and non-residential buildings. The Borough will reimburse the property owner 50% of an approved facade improvement project up to $5,000. Property owners must pay for the project in full, up front, prior to reimbursement.

Potential projects might consist of things like signage, front door, front porch, awning, painting, siding, roof, front windows, etc. The application period will be April 1^st through May 31st. Applications can be found on www.springgrovepa.gov or at the Borough Office.  We expect to award at least three applicants in the 2025 round with this reimbursement based on our budget. In the future, we hope to be awarded grant money from the Department of Commerce Economic Development that will enable us to expand the program. We will announce the winners of this round of applications on June 15, 2025, or before. 

The timeline for 2025 will look like this:

1. April 1st- May 31st- open application period, applications submitted to the Borough Office at 1 Campus Ave or e-mailed to [email protected]
2. June 15th- grant winners announced.
3. Construction projects completed- June 16^th – December 15^th.
4. At project completion, all construction costs must be submitted to the Borough Office including copies of invoices, cancelled checks, and before and after pictures by December 15th or before.
5. Borough sends reimbursement check to owner for of up to $5000 by January 2, 2026, or before depending on the timing of the project.

We hope the businesses and residents will take advantage of this program in 2025, and it will be renewed for 2026 and beyond.  It will only take a few years for the façade improvements to make a big difference in the visual appeal of Spring Grove Borough. These types of projects have made a big difference in many small towns in Pennsylvania. 

Applications can be found on the Borough website at www.springgrovepa.gov Documents, General Forms, BEAUTIFY THE BOROUGH. Please fill out and return by May 31, 2025.

Please contact the Borough office with any questions about this program.