Applications are available to be part of the new target area for the Jamestown Renaissance Corp.’s Renaissance Block Challenge on the city’s north side.

Mary Maxwell, JRC neighborhood project director, said the north side area will include neighborhoods along Buffalo, Kingsbury, North Main and Sturges streets and Euclid Avenue. She said there are 315 properties in the area and is hoping at least 50 will signup for the first of the five-year program.

The JRC started accepting pre-applications March 1 and can be found under “healthy neighborhoods” at jamestownrenaissance.org or by email at mary@jamestownrenaissance.org. The pre-application is due Aug. 1.

Interested parties need to write a brief outline highlighting a strong sense of communication and identity among neighbors as well as a map of the property’s boundary lines. Winners will be announced in January 2023 with a three-year time frame given to complete exterior improvements.

Maxwell said one change to the program this year is that property owners who spend $6,000 will be reimbursed $3,000. In the past few years, those who spent $4,000 would be reimbursed $2,000. She said property owners have until August to create a cluster with at least six properties to potentially participate in the program. She said the applications will be finalized in October to determine who will participate in the RBC in 2023.

Along with matching grants, participants also receive discounts at local stores and design assistance. RBC workshops will be offered starting Tuesday, March 22, at 6 p.m. at Washington Middle School, located at 159 Buffalo St., Thursday, April 21, at 6 p.m. at Christ First Methodist Church, located at 663 Lakeview Ave., and Saturday, May 21, at 10 a.m. at the Euclid Apartments, 28 Euclid St.

“Call a neighborhood meeting and fill out the pre-application together,” Maxwell said. “Ask neighbors to begin considering what projects they wish to complete and secure contractors for estimates. Many contractors are booked a year ahead.”

The program includes homeowners, businesses and landlords. Maxwell said a few property owners on the northside have participated in the RBC in previous years. She said they will be able to utilize the program a second time.

Since 2019, the JRC has been focused on the first target area, which was around Allen Park and UPMC Chautauqua. Maxwell said through the first three years of the five-year program, 131 properties of 259 have participated, with $342,000 in renovations being done, of which property owners paid 70% of the costs.

Maxwell said 76 property owners are still in the program, which will soon increase the overall total.

“The block challenge got us to sit down for the first time as neighbors and really talk about our block, and get to know each other better,” said Steve Shulman, who participated in the program in 2019. “We shared thoughts and ideas that some or all of us could use to improve the appearance of our block. The discount coupons and contractor lists were helpful in directing us to the people who could do the work we wanted.”

Before there were target areas as the focus of the Renaissance Block Challenge, neighborhoods throughout the city were allowed to participate in the program. Between 2011 to 2018, 45 clusters with 450 houses were renovated with $1.3 million invested into city houses.