Funding Available for Commercial and Mixed-Use Property Owners in East Buffalo
Applications Available Here and Due on June 27
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced applications are now open for the “East Side Building Fund,” a new $10 million fund that aims to assist in private building renovations and infill development to help revitalize neighborhood business districts in East Buffalo. A public information meeting and drop-in office hours will be held in May and June to assist applicants in applying for grants. Applications are available here and must be submitted by 4 p.m. on Friday, June 27, 2025.
“My administration is continuing its commitment to help East Buffalo’s business property owners with the often-hard job of upgrading their buildings, which will in turn make our business districts more attractive, inviting and able to better serve Buffalo neighborhoods,” Governor Hochul said. “The East Side Building Fund considers the overall needs of a particular building and funds those needs through one source — creating clearer, streamlined access so that resources can move into the community more quickly.”
The East Side Building Fund is the State’s latest effort growing from its on-going collaboration among Empire State Development (ESD), philanthropic organizations and the community to improve East Side commercial corridors — which has included grants for improving storefronts and other upgrades, funding to shore up at-risk buildings and providing real estate training and financial assistance to the next generation of emerging developers in the neighborhood.
The fund specifically grows from three former ESD programs (East Side Commercial Districts Program, Commercial Building Stabilization Fund and Community-Based Real Estate Development Training Program Fund), each with individual application requirements and funding limits. The East Side Building Fund takes a more streamlined and holistic approach — by focusing on the overall needs of a particular building and allowing funding through a single process, so resources can move into the community more quickly.
The fund offers assistance along two tracks based upon the size of a project:
- Small Projects – intended for projects involving more conventional renovations to existing buildings, will provide grants covering up to 90 percent of total project costs for items like roofing, structural stabilization, and storefront/facade and signage improvements. The maximum grant amount is $400,000 and will be administered through ESD’s community partner, Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc., which will directly pay construction contractors to minimize grantees’ out-of-pocket expenses.
- Anchor Projects – intended for much larger projects, will provide grants that will reimburse up to 50 percent of a grantee’s total project costs, up to a maximum of $2,000,000, for projects involving major restorations, adaptive reuse, new construction and associated site improvements.
Read the full press release here.