ROI Jamestown Grant Program

ROI Jamestown: Reinvestment for Opportunity & Impact is a competitive grant program administered by the City of Jamestown Department of Development. Formerly known as the Restore, Adapt, Develop Jamestown Grant Program, the initiative provides financial assistance to commercial property owners and business tenants for improvements to facilities and operations. The program is made possible through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant funding, specifically CDBG Fiscal Year 2025 Program funds allocated to the City of Jamestown. Its purpose is to facilitate revitalization of Jamestown commercial buildings and businesses, encourage economic growth and private investment, promote small businesses and entrepreneurship, address community development needs, and ultimately sustain and create jobs. Grants are generally awarded in amounts not to exceed $50,000, with final funding amounts dependent on available funding, the volume of applications, and eligible projects and project costs. Eligible activities include building improvements, painting, exterior refinishing, doors, windows, lighting, roof repair, brick repointing, HVAC, accessibility improvements, interior commercial build-outs, permanently installed fixtures and equipment, permanently affixed signage, and qualifying machinery. Development activities promoting job creation may also qualify. A portion of funding may be used for building acquisition on a case-by-case basis when strict job creation requirements are met. Machinery permanently affixed to the building is eligible only when the applicant is both the deeded property owner and business owner. All estimates involving work over $2,000 must include prevailing wage. No work for which grant funding is requested may begin until the application has been approved and all required contracts and agreements have been signed. Eligible properties must be located within the City of Jamestown census tracts. Property owners must provide proof of ownership through a deed, while tenants must provide proof of tenancy, such as a lease agreement. City and School taxes and BPU accounts must be paid in full, and the building must be found code compliant through City inspection. Businesses must demonstrate financial viability through 12-month and 3-year cashflow projections or Profit and Loss statements for the previous two years and must self-certify good standing with the Department of Labor and Department of Environmental Protection. Businesses receiving grants up to $15,000 must remain at the location for at least three years, while recipients of larger awards must remain for at least five years. Residential rental buildings are excluded unless connected to a mixed-use building, and home-based businesses, financial institutions, nationally dominant chains or franchises, and structures outside Jamestown are ineligible. Property owners receiving assistance are subject to a Five-Year Anti-Speculation Agreement. Applications must include the completed application and all required supporting documentation, including proof of current taxes, applicable financial documentation, deed information where relevant, before-work photographs, and two sets of estimates. A Building Plan is required for projects involving exterior or interior renovations, build-outs, or repairs and must describe the renovation plans and their relationship to job creation, elimination of slum and blight, health and safety improvements, and expected return on investment. The application itself requests applicant and project information, descriptions and requested amounts for exterior improvements, interior improvements, building mechanics, other capital improvements, building or machinery acquisition as applicable, current employment levels, employment retention effects, anticipated new full-time and part-time jobs, people served, and how the business supports individuals across income levels. Incomplete applications will not be considered. ROI Jamestown applications are competitively evaluated through a rating system developed by Department of Development economic development staff. Evaluation considers full-time and part-time job creation, return on investment, impact on the business, business experience, stability and longevity, community benefit, business sustainability and resiliency, and the percentage of total project cost contributed by the applicant. Priority is given to commercial buildings in the Downtown Business District, along City corridors, and industrial buildings occupied by businesses that will maintain or create employment. Following the application deadline, applications are expected to be reviewed and scored within 15 days, after which applicants are notified in writing or by email. Awardees then proceed through inspection, any applicable State Historic Preservation Office review, scope-of-work development, and execution of the required Sub-Recipient Agreement and, for property owners, the Five-Year Anti-Speculation Agreement. The current application window opened August 27, 2026, and complete applications and required supporting documentation must be received by 4:00 p.m. on September 30, 2026. Applications may be emailed to Economic Development Coordinator Aili Makuch at makuch@jamestownny.gov, with hard-copy applications available on a case-by-case basis through the Department of Development. Applicants are encouraged to submit draft applications for feedback or meet one-on-one with the Economic Development Coordinator before final submission, although no mandatory pre-application stage is identified. Questions may be directed to Aili Makuch at (716) 338-0040 or makuch@jamestownny.gov. The guidelines state that grants will be awarded each quarter as funding permits, application windows will open for a minimum of 30 days as funding allows, and unfunded projects may be resubmitted in the future. Payment occurs through reimbursement of paid invoices and receipts or direct contractor payment under a Contractor's Agreement, with the Department of Development allowed twenty-one business days to deliver payment after required invoices, receipts, and completion documents are received.

Submit a complete application because incomplete applications will not be considered; obtain two estimates and ensure applicable labor estimates include prevailing wage; clearly demonstrate job creation or retention, return on investment, business impact and stability, community benefit, sustainability and resiliency, and applicant investment; priority is given to qualifying Downtown Business District, City corridor, and industrial-building projects maintaining or creating employment; consider submitting a draft or meeting with the Economic Development Coordinator before final submission