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Local Grants Can Pay for Signage
If you run a business in Nokomis East, now’s a great time to give your facade or storefront a little love—especially because there’s a local grant program that can help foot the bill. And, if you don’t own a business in Nokomis, skip to the “Get Started” section below to see if your city also offers a grant.
Neighborhood businesses in Keewaydin, Minnehaha, Morris Park, and Wenonah can apply for a matching grant to help pay for exterior upgrades. The program through Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA) offers up to $5,000 in funding to improve your building’s facade, which includes things like lights, paint, and even signage—something we know a thing or two about.
So, Why is a Sign the Smartest Choice to Utilize Your Funds?
Let’s be honest: most people judge a business by how it looks from the street. And, your sign isn’t just there to show your name—it’s the first impression of your business. It tells people what to expect. It builds trust. And when it’s done right, it can bring in more customers.
We’ve worked with plenty of local businesses and we often hear our clients say they wish they had updated their signage sooner. A new, clean, eye-catching sign isn’t just nice to have—it’s an amazing business asset and with NENA and our team at Impression Signs you can get started on it right away.
Bober Boba Tea and Mochi Dough Signage in Minneapolis by Impression Signs
What Else Can the Grant Can Help Pay For?
While signs are one of our favorite things, we know you might have other needs that come first when it comes to your business’s exterior and the cool thing about this grant is that it also covers things like:
- Installing exterior lighting or windows
- Painting or restoring parts of the building
- Adding awnings or other entryway features
If it improves the look of your building from the outside, it’s likely eligible.
Here’s How You Get Started
Learn more and apply at: NokomisEast.Org. Businesses must get at least two bids (if the project is more than $5,000) and it’s first-come, first-serve. And, if you’re outside the Nokomis area, a grant may still be available. We cannot guarantee funds are available or programs are live but here are some similar programs that may also be available:
- Columbia Heights
- Cottage Grove
- North St. Paul
- St. Paul
- West St. Paul
- Minneapolis (Great Streets)
- Minneapolis (Field-Regina-Northrup)
- Minneapolis (Standish-Ericsson)
If You’re Ready to Get Started We Can Make the Process Simple
While we can’t apply for you, we can chat through your ideas, which upgrades might make the most sense for your business, and get you a bid.
Let’s make your facade or storefront stand out.
If you’re interested in learning more, we’d love to talk. Give us a call, send an email, or stop by the shop.
📞 651-328-6600 | 📧 info@ImpressionSigns.com |
Project Highlight: Reell Manufacturing
Exterior Signage
The Ask: Create & replace illuminated exterior signage so they can be seen in the dark and update their brand identity at the same time.
The Project: Design, manufacture and install a monument sign cabinet that can be seen during the day and at night, and create an illuminated channel letters sign for the back of the building to help people find the building from both sides.
How We Did It: We worked with the city's planning department, an engineering firm, the client's electrician, and a landscaping contractor before ultimately building a monument sign with day/night film that allowed for higher visibility and contrast during both day and night.
Project Highlight: SPPS - Washington
SPPS – Digital Monument
The Ask: Replace an electronic message center sign that was destroyed in an automobile accident.
The Project: Create and install a digital monument sign with a programmable electronic message center to help raise awareness of school events, display recognition messages and enhance community pride.
How We Did It: We designed a monument that was similar to the original, but with several enhancements. A USA-based electronic message center vendor and a local fabricator then produced the monument sign while we helped obtain the required permit. The replacement sign was bigger than what is now currently allowed by the city, but since the original sign was grandfathered in, it was approved and later installed with help from the client’s electrician.
Project Highlight: Helix
HELIX – Multi-family Signage
The Ask: Update signage as part of a property rebrand & add additional wayfinding signage as part of a larger apartment building remodel.
The Project: Design and fabricate over 350 custom interior ADA signs, one illuminated monument sign, four post and panel signs, and a handful of custom parking signs.
How We Did It: We worked with the city’s planning department to ensure all exterior signage was properly permitted per city ordinance prior to fabrication and installation. Then we coordinated all sign installation with the client to ensure minimal disruption and maximum impact to all residents and visitors.
Project Highlight: Agiliti
AGILITI – Interior Signage
The Ask: Help create interior signage for a rebrand to enhance the corporate office environment, showcase the company’s products, and boost company culture through core values signage.
The Project: Work with the client’s design firm to create a company “Legends” wall, a wall mural, a dimensional sign for a curved wall, an illuminated lobby sign for the reception area, etched glass vinyl graphics for multiple conference rooms, and other multi-dimensional signs throughout the office.
How We Did It: We met with the client’s design firm to discuss possible solutions to bring their ideas to life then we performed a detailed site survey to validate the size of each space. We also provided suggestions that could help with their budget without sacrificing the project’s objective. From there, we continued to communicate with the client and their design firm until the whole project was approved, printed, and installed.
Project Highlight: Cobeck - Southdale
COBECK CO. – Comm. Construction Signage
The Ask: Provide signage for the new expansion area at Southdale Center as part of the Lifetime Fitness Edina project.
The Project: Supply illuminated channel letters, dimensional lobby signs, elevator signs, parking signs, and ADA compliant wayfinding signs for the new Southdale expansion parking ramp, elevator, and lobby.
How We Did It: After winning a signage bid on this construction project, we performed multiple site surveys at various stages of construction. We then created mockup submittals for all signage, and upon approval, manufactured and installed signage according to the commercial construction firm’s drawings and needs. We also provided extensive hands-on project management to source non-traditional fabrication requests and ensure on-time delivery to complete the firm’s entire construction project on time.
Project Highlight: Pizza Karma
PIZZA KARMA – Restaurant Signage
The Ask: Print and manufacture all necessary signage for a brand-new restaurant.
The Project: Manufacture exterior channel letters, swap out pylon sign panels in a multi-tenant pole sign, print and install large vinyl wall mural with a custom textured laminate, print and cut window vinyl, menu boards and various other interior wayfinding and branding signage.
How We Did It: We worked with an architectural design firm that specializes in restaurant builds to obtain brand assets we could use to design and layout several different types of signage. We installed all requested signage just in time for the grand opening, even with harsh weather conditions during the week of install.
Project Highlight: East Side Association
EASTSIDE NEIGHBOORHOOD DEVELOPMENT – Illuminated Signage
The Ask: Redesign and renew signage for businesses within the community to help foster economic growth and commercial development on the East Side of St. Paul.
The Project: Create exterior signage (both illuminated channel letters on a raceway and flat panels) to retrofit the space for 6 local businesses and help enhance visibility day and night while creating a more professional appearance for each.
How We Did It: We performed site surveys for each location, created design mockups for each business owner, and worked with the city to obtain required permits. From there, we coordinated installs with an electrician where applicable to ensure all illuminated signs provided maximum impact.
Project Highlight: Metro
METRO HEATING – Fleet Graphics
The Ask: Design & rebrand vehicle graphics to help build further brand awareness, build credibility, and enhance trustworthiness.
The Project: Create a new design, then print and wrap 30+ trucks and vans.
How We Did It: We created multiple design concepts to best incorporate Metro Heating’s ideas and represent not just their services, but also their values. From there, we printed the approved design, and scheduled install on both old and new fleet vehicles with a detailed weekly schedule to ensure on-time completion and minimal downtime for the client.
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As your full-service sign shop, we can handle any request big or small. Contact us today!