Downtown Brighton Façade Improvement Underway

The first façade improvement project using a new partnership loan program is underway in downtown Brighton.

Thanks, in part, to a $108,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the green façade of 412, 416 and 420 W. Main Street, where Great Harvest Bread Company, Main Street Cheese Market and Kensington Valley Varsity are housed, is being replaced.

The rest of the $144,000 project comes from a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) façade loan agreement with First National Bank and Livingston Community Bank and private funds contributed by the business owners.

MEDC grant funds are contingent on job creation and financial contributions from the business owners.

Modrack said the building on Main Street is totally out of character for downtown Brighton because it looks like a strip mall center.

When the project is complete, it will look like two-story individual buildings with canopies.

Later this month, construction will begin on Champ's Pub.

The historical landmark's improvements will include a new ceramic tile veneer, fypon molding, new canopies over the windows and deck, a new cornice and accent lights.

A total of $50,000 of the $75,000 project will be paid for through a MEDC grant. The remaining $25,000 will be contributed by Champ's owner Dave Beauchamp.

Modrack said these two buildings are the current projects under the DDA's loan program with local banks, but he expects it the final construct of the program to be available in a different format to other businesses in the future.