Buddy’s Wine Bar & Bistro
With support from the St. Louis Development Corporation, Greater St. Louis, Inc. offers grants for up to $50,000, covering up to 25% of the costs of interior and exterior tenant improvements to high-impact street-level retail spaces in the Downtown and Downtown West neighborhoods of the City of St. Louis.
The program’s goals are to encourage new businesses to open ground-floor locations along priority corridors and within targeted retail nodes, motivate property owners to work with prospective tenants to fill long-vacant spaces, and increase the total number of retail businesses in the Downtown and Downtown West neighborhoods.
Eligible Applicants
The following individuals and businesses are eligible to apply for the Program:
- Current property owners in Downtown and Downtown West with a suitable tenant;
- Prospective property owners in Downtown and Downtown West with a suitable tenant;
- Current tenants in Downtown and Downtown West seeking to open a second location in Downtown and Downtown West; and
- Prospective tenants in Downtown and Downtown West.
The Retail TI Grant is not designed to assist:
- Existing businesses within Downtown who wish to change locations or update their existing locations;
- Office tenants and similar non-retail uses; or
- Tenants not located on the ground floor with prominent street frontage.
All tenant applicants must have the consent of their current or prospective landlord and/or building owner to perform the work in question.
The grant is designed for tenants who will sign a lease with a minimum term of 12 months to occupy ground-floor space.
Eligible Uses
The following uses are eligible for reimbursement under the Program:
- Interior demolition and shell reconstruction
- Permanent equipment, plumbing, mechanical, electrical & HVAC
- Permanent lighting
- Flooring
- Windows/doors/commercial storefront
- Historic restoration of interior features
- Permanent interior walls and finishes
- Permanent bar/counter/cash wrap for point of sale
- Architectural/interior design/permitting fees related to the interior improvements
- Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Hazardous materials abatement, such as asbestos removal
- Lead remediation
The following uses would not be eligible for reimbursement under the Program:
- Furniture such as tables, chairs, display racks and other similar fixtures
- Temporary or moveable cubicles or partitions to subdivide space
- Moveable equipment, fixtures, or furnishings
- Moving expenses, salaries, working capital, or inventory
- In-kind work performed by the applicant
- Other items deemed as narrowly tailored for a particular use and not potentially beneficial to other future users of the space.
The Program is intended to fund long-term, permanent tenant improvements to retail spaces that serve current and potential future tenants. The Program will be used strategically in key corridors and retail nodes to implement the recommendations of the Design Downtown STL plan.