Storefront & Façade Improvements
BBN Labs plans storefront and façade improvements end to end. We handle assessment, measurements, before-and-after visualizations, and colour and lighting concepts. Then we line up contractor quotes from qualified trades. Municipalities across Canada run community improvement programs that may apply. Windsor's Main Streets CIP, for example, matches 50% of eligible façade costs in designated areas, and Airdrie, Alberta covers up to 50% to a maximum of $50,000 downtown. If so, we prepare the drawings, estimates and document package before any work begins.
What you get
- Storefront assessment with measurements and photography
- Before-and-after visualizations of your actual building
- Façade colour, material and lighting concepts
- Window-branding and signage integration
- Coordination of contractor cost estimates (programs often require three)
- Architectural-drawing coordination where required
- Program screening for your address (designated areas matter)
- Application document package and timing plan around pre-approval rules
- Completion photographs and final documentation
What it fixes
- The building looks tired and it's costing you walk-in trust
- Municipal façade programs demand pre-approval, drawings and multiple estimates. Most owners start work too early and lose eligibility
- Contractors quote construction; nobody coordinates design, paperwork and timing
- You own a multi-tenant building and want the storefronts improved coherently
Where a project includes physical work, it is completed by licensed contractors BBN coordinates.
Process
How a project runs
01
Assessment and photos of the building
02
Concepts and visualizations; align with any program's design expectations
03
Estimates coordinated from qualified contractors
04
Program paperwork assembled; nothing starts before required approvals
05
Construction coordinated with partners; completion documented
Funding categories that may relate
The honest read on funding
Façade matching grants run in cities across Canada — Windsor's Main Streets CIP, Airdrie's downtown property grant and Montreal's Commerce-Montréal program among them. Each has designated areas, matching requirements and strict no-work-before-approval rules. A project may qualify only if scoped and sequenced correctly. Final decisions rest with the municipality.
See the funding we track for upgrades like this, coast to coast →
Packages
Bundled ways to buy this
Storefront Visibility Package
A storefront people notice, scoped and quoted with the grant paperwork ready.
Your storefront is the first impression most customers get, and the part of the building municipal improvement programs most often support. BBN Labs assesses what you have, designs what it could become, and manages sign fabrication and installation quotations from start to finish. A grant-readiness checklist is prepared along the way, since façade and signage projects may qualify for municipal programs, subject to program rules, available funding, and approval.
Package details →Industries
Who asks for this most
Frequently asked questions
Why does starting work early kill façade grant applications?
Most municipal CIP programs require an executed grant agreement (sometimes a pre-application meeting too) before any work begins, including permit applications in some cases. Work started early is typically ineligible, full stop. We sequence the project so design, estimates and approvals happen in the order the program demands.
I rent my unit. Can I still improve the façade?
Often yes, with the property owner's written authorization. Several programs explicitly accommodate tenants this way. We help you prepare a clear summary for your landlord covering scope, cost-sharing and who signs what.
What if my address isn't in a designated program area?
Then we tell you that plainly, with no manufactured hope. A façade refresh can still make commercial sense on its own, and financing routes like the Canada Small Business Financing Program (a loan, not a grant) may help with cash flow. You decide with real information.
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Branding, Print & Promotional Materials
Logos, brand guidelines, menus, cards and print that match your storefront. One consistent identity everywhere.
Ready to start on Storefront & Façade Improvements?
Tell us about your business and what you're working with. You'll get a practical plan, a clear quote, and an honest funding read checked against the 279 verified programs we track.
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Subject to program rules, available funding, and approval. Final decisions are made solely by each program administrator.