BRAINTREE, MA – Senators Brian A. Joyce and Michael W. Morrissey, along with Representative Joseph R. Driscoll, are pleased to announce that the Town of Braintree has been awarded a grant up to $10,000 from the FY2010 Massachusetts Downtown Initiative Technical Assistance (MDI) Site Visit Program.
 
The MDI Technical Assistance Site Visit Program provides assistance to communities, through consultant services, targeting specific issues related to a community’s downtown revitalization efforts. The goal of this technical assistance is to address and overcome obstacles to a community’s downtown revitalization efforts. The TA Site Visit Program is limited to non-entitlement Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) communities.
 
In Braintree, the funds will be used to hire consultant services to provide design assistance for the creation of sign façade program design guidelines. The long-term goal of the “Façade Improvement Program” is to provide local small businesses with guidance and economic resource tools to help sustain and grow their businesses. The consultant will be tasked with program creation, funding exploration, and design guideline compliance.
 
“We are very pleased that Braintree will benefit from this MDI grant,” said Senator Joyce. “Along with Sen. Morrissey and Rep. Driscoll, we applaud Braintree’s Planning and Development Office for their efforts to secure this worthwhile funding for the community.”
 
“I am grateful that our state agencies continue to look favorably on this important redevelopment project for Braintree,” said Senator Michael W. Morrissey.
 
“This grant will serve to reinvigorate our local businesses,” said Representative Driscoll. “It will strengthen the shops and services in Braintree and, as a result, aid the citizens of our Town at a time when job stability is critical.”
 
The MDI Technical Assistance Site Visit Program is part of the Department of Housing and Community Development’s overall Massachusetts Downtown Initiative (MDI), which offers a range of services and assistance to communities seeking help on how to revitalize their downtowns. The primary mission of the MDI is to make downtown revitalization an integral part of community development in cities and towns across the Commonwealth.