SCRANTON —The city began accepting applications Wednesday for a small-business facade grant program.
An eligible small business could receive 50% of costs, up to $10,000.
“Our original facade grant program had real impact for local businesses,” Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said in a statement. “We are excited to bring this program back to help businesses across Scranton give their stores a fresh look and our business corridors a boost of energy.”
Officials announced the program at McCarthy Flowers, 1001 N. Main Ave., which was one of over two dozen businesses that previously received funding through an American Rescue Plan Act façade grant from the city.
Applicants must be in Department of Housing and Urban Development-designated low-to-moderate income areas, and must not have any tax or trash fee delinquencies or outstanding code enforcement issues.
Eligible projects will include the replacement or installation of windows and doors; signage; lighting; awnings, canopies and sunshades; decking and stairs; gutters and downspouts; cornices or decorative trim; restoration of historically significant architectural details; masonry, pointing or carpentry work; painting, surface treatment or repairs to original finishes; entranceways to buildings or parking lots; trees, shrubs, flowers and other greenery; and sidewalks, patios, walkways, benches, planters and other permanent exterior features, including work completed with concrete pavers, brick or natural stone.
Ineligible costs include fencing, retaining walls, site improvements, paving, parking lots and roofing.
Applications are open now at scrantonpa.gov/FacadeGrants2026. Interested businesses can contact City of Scranton Community Development Manager Liza Carroll at lcarroll@scrantonpa.gov or City of Scranton Economic Development Coordinator Tom Cipriano at tcipriano@scrantonpa.gov.
Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, center, announces a new business facade improvement grant program in front of McCarthy Flowers in Scranton Wedensday, July 8, 2026. Standing with Cognetti, from left, are McCarthy Flowers’ floral designers David Bilardi and Whitney Albert, sales associate Sarah Hoffman, regional manager Carol Kemler, President of the Lackawanna Historical Society Michael Gilmartin, his wife Nada Gilmartin, and Chief Financial Officer of McCarthy Flowers Robert Gower. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, center, announces a new business facade improvement grant program in front of McCarthy Flowers in Scranton Wedensday, July 8, 2026. Standing with Cognetti, from left, are McCarthy Flowers’ floral designers David Bilardi and Whitney Albert, sales associate Sarah Hoffman, regional manager Carol Kemler, President of the Lackawanna Historical Society Michael Gilmartin, his wife Nada Gilmartin, and Chief Financial Officer of McCarthy Flowers Robert Gower. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, center, announces a new business facade improvement grant program in front of McCarthy Flowers in Scranton Wedensday, July 8, 2026. Standing with Cognetti, from left, are McCarthy Flowers’ floral designers David Bilardi and Whitney Albert, sales associate Sarah Hoffman, regional manager Carol Kemler, President of the Lackawanna Historical Society Michael Gilmartin, his wife Nada Gilmartin, and Chief Financial Officer of McCarthy Flowers Robert Gower. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)