Grants
We all need a little help from our friends, and when you have an old house, you have friends you may not have known about! This page gives links to sources of money for your important home repairs, including a grant from OHS.
Old House Society Restoration Grant
The Old House Society has a grant program that is designed to help homeowners or businesses in their efforts to repair and rehabilitate their historic homes.
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Project must repair or restore a building in a way that will maintain or add to the home’s historic nature.
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Grant worth $500 ($250 in salvage warehouse credit and a $250 check from the Old House Society).
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Applicants agree to allow OHS to document and publicize their renovation project. To download the application click the "W."
City of Bloomington Grants to Homeowners
This program completes lead-based paint assessments and abatement in houses with lead-based paint hazards typically such as siding, doors, windows, soffits and/or painting. Additional support is provided under our Healthy Homes Program funding.
Program guidelines include but are not limited to:
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Residence in 61701 Zip code
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Property built prior to 1978
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Income eligibility based on household size
(80% Area Median Income (AMI) per the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) -
Priority application intake given for applications with households that have pregnant women or children with high lead blood levels
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides annual funding to meet a wide range of community development needs. The City of Bloomington has received CDBG funding for over 40 years.
All activities funded through CDBG are required to meet one of the following national objectives:
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Benefit to low- and moderate-income persons;
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Aid in the prevention or elimination of slum or blight; or
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Meet community development needs having a particular urgency.
IHDA Strong Communities Program
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The City participates in the Illinois Housing Development Authority’s Strong Communities Program (SCP). SCP will return vacant residential properties to productive and taxable use through rehabilitation and provide funds for demolition in cases where properties are beyond repair and negatively impacting neighboring residences. As a result, SCP will increase property values, create jobs, help reduce crime, generate additional tax revenue, and attract further community investment.
This program provides financial relief to the City’s general fund by assisting with expenses related to the maintenance and demolition or rehabilitation of vacant residential properties.
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American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Housing Rehabilitation Grant Program
Community members wishing to apply for this program must first submit a City of Bloomington Housing Rehabilitation Pre-Application here. A paper version of the pre-application is available as well. Once the pre-application is completed, staff will contact you to discuss the rehabilitation programs available, the program that may work for you, and the full application process for that program. If you have any questions about the application process, please contact Catherine Dunlap, Grant Specialist, at (309) 434-2232 or cdunlap@cityblm.org.
Paper pre-applications can be submitted to the Economic and Community Development Department using the address below.
Government Center
Attention: Community Enhancement Division
115 East Washington Street
P.O. Box 3157
Bloomington, IL 61702-3157
Dr. Robert G. Bone Historic Preservation Grant Program, Normal
https://www.normal.org/index.aspx?NID=392
" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Link
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Property must be zoned S-3 which means it either lies within one of the three districts designated historically significant by the town of Normal (Cedar Crest, Highland, Old North Normal).
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OR an individual structure identified by the town of Normal as a local historic landmark.
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Ask the Normal town attorney or the town planner (both at 309/ 454-2444) if you have a question about how your property is zoned.
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Limited to exterior work.
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Matches funds with homeowners up to 50% of the total cost of a project.
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Proposed changes must be approved by the Normal Historic Preservation Commission as does the final work.
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Maximum of 2 grants per fiscal year and a maximum of $5,000 per grant.
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Owner has one year from the time the grant is approved to finish the work.
Eugene D. Funk, Jr. Historic Preservation Grant Program, Bloomington
Link
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An annual program that focuses on exterior architecture of houses and other structures on the same property as the house. To be eligible, the location must be zoned S-4.
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Properties that lie within the boundaries of Franklin Park Historic District or the Davis-Jefferson Historic District, both of which are entirely S-4, are eligible.
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The grant reimburses up to 50% of the total cost of the approved project.
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Plan of proposed changes must be developed and sent to the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission for approval. This agency also approves the final work.
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Maximum of 2 grants per fiscal year with a maximum of $2,500 for each grant.
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Covers professional architectural services, materials, and skilled labor.
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Owner has one year from the time the grant is approved to finish the project.
Harriet Fuller Rust Facade Grant Program, Bloomington
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For improvements to storefronts in downtown Bloomington.
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Generally, limited to exterior work.
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Either a property owner or business owner may apply.
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Total repair or restoration costs are reimbursed up to a maximum of 50% of the total cost. (or 25% of roofing work.)
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Grant has a maximum of 2 grants per fiscal year with a maximum of $20,000 per project per year.
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The project must be evaluated and approved by the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission.
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Ineligible changes include interior remodeling; major structural repair; furnishing or other property that is not a part of the real estate.
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A non-refundable fee applies.