A minor change in how the city of Mankato administers a state grant to fix up homes and business facades may free up more money for commercial restoration work.

The grant doesn’t have to be repaid if the business or home owner occupies the building for 10 years.

But when they do move or sell, the money has to be paid back as a loan. That money revolves back into the program.

Under the current rules, the money that’s paid back has to revolve into the fund it came from — rental paybacks must go toward new rental projects, commercial loans to business projects and home loans to owner-occupied projects.

There are dozens of requests for commercial funding, but there are no funds available because none have been repaid.

The current balance of the fund is $280,991.62, with 47 percent of the repayments coming from rental repayments and the rest from owner-occupied repayments.

The change would allow that money to go toward commercial property.

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