Local retailer Lesley Jane has received a $10,000 grant from the Town of Zionsville Community Development Corporation (CDC). Owner Lesley Hunt applied for the CDC grant in early July and was awarded the full amount.
Lesley Jane is a women’s specialty boutique located on Zionsville’s Main Street. Hunt will use the grant primarily to update the business’s website. These enhancements will allow the business to process online orders, utilize gift cards and sync various existing software packages. The grant will also be used to cover losses for unsold prom dresses and the cost of seasonal stock, as well as toward marketing efforts.
“I’d like to express my gratitude to the Town of Zionsville Community Development Corporation and its committee members who reviewed my grant application and approved it,” Hunt said. “Now, I am hopeful. Without this grant I would not be able to recover the losses incurred from a prom season that was cancelled as a result of the current pandemic. Thanks to this grant, I will be able to pivot my business model and focus on the redevelopment of my retail website – which has been my plan – as I continue to navigate through this unprecedented crisis.”
To help local businesses impacted by COVID-19 and ease the burden of unplanned expenses and lost revenue incurred due to COVID-19, earlier this summer the Town of Zionsville launched the CDC grant program. This funding option is available to businesses located in the 106th Street Tax Increment Finance District (area bounded by Poplar Street, Elm Street, 96th Street, Michigan Road and Zionsville Road).
“These are unprecedented times and we recognize that local businesses need support,” said CDC President Cara Weber. “We’re happy to do our part to help support businesses, which are vital to the economic health and well-being of the community.”
Funding for businesses in this district is available. For more information on the CDC grant, contact communitydevelopment@zionsville-in.gov or call Wayne DeLong, Director of Planning & Economic Development, at 317-503-6170.
The Zionsville CDC is a 501(c)(4) service organization whose mission is to undertake activities that are for the “betterment of Zionsville.” Formed in 2016, the CDC contributes to the community in a variety of ways, including offering economic development incentives in the form of grants and loans to businesses in the 106th Street Tax Increment Finance District, as well as operating and maintaining the pathways, rain gardens and common areas in Creekside Corporate Park.