Hawthorne is looking to spruce up Diamond Bridge Avenue shops. Here's how they'll do it

HAWTHORNE — Officials are giving loans of up to $10,000 to downtown merchants and property owners who invest in improvements to their aging facades.

The exterior work , targeting 21 shopfronts on Diamond Bridge Avenue, is meant to spiff up the busy area by creating an aesthetic streetscape — one that is more inviting for prospective tenants and the public at large.

The loans will be provided by the borough through its participation in the Neighborhood Preservation Program , an initiative run by the state Department of Community Affairs to revitalize commercial corridors in “threatened but viable” business districts.

Hawthorne is among 20 municipalities in New Jersey engaged in the five-year program. Other North Jersey participants include Boonton, Garfield and Newton.

The borough receives annual grants of $125,000 for its participation and a 15-member committee budgets that money for various projects . It intends to spend more than a third of the current allocation to reimburse merchants who go along with the desired upgrades.

But the improvements are not mandatory, and interest in doing them has yet to be seen.

Nancy Agnello, the program coordinator, said she looks forward to an upcoming breakfast with the merchants where she plans to discuss the concept in greater detail. She said they would get to see examples of designs that are preferred by the committee.

“Because it’s a pilot program,” she said on Monday, “we’re trying to make it very easy for them to participate. We’re going to assist them every step of the way.”

The loans will cover upgrades to facades, in addition to awnings, entrances, lights, signs and windows.

The Borough Council at its most recent meeting endorsed an application process and a set of guidelines that the committee devised, with the help of a professional planner, to steer merchants in a similar direction.

The guidelines, however, are mostly broad.

DOWNTOWN: This Passaic County town will serenade local shoppers with summer concert series

They do not prescribe specific colors for the awnings or that the same decorative sconces be mounted at each door, but the committee is partial to certain design elements. It likes burgundy and deep red, earth tones — and as far as fixtures, it is encouraging merchants to install what is known as shepherd’s crook lamps.

Neon lights will not be permitted, and all new window installations are required to be Energy Star-certified. Rules for sign dimensions are outlined in the municipal code.

“We want everything to be complementary,” Agnello said.

Store owners who receive loans must sign grant agreements stating that their improvements will be maintained in good condition for at least 10 years.

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: devencentis@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Hawthorne is looking to spruce up Diamond Bridge Avenue shops. Here's how they'll do it