One drawing showed the building at 240 Auburn Way S., its stairwells wrapped in cedar paneling, a brick layer screening its upper reaches.

“Reskinning” of the entire structure could start as early as next month, Lauren Flemister, an urban design planner for the City of Auburn, told City leaders on Monday.

And when Flemister put an artist’s conception of possible façade improvements to the Parker Paint Strip Mall, her audience gasped and oohed in pleasant surprise.

“Yeah, it’s a big change,” Flemister said.

Flemister was at City Hall to describe to council members just how far the Façade Improvement Grant Program has come since its launching in June. And, when possible, to show them where it is going.

Auburn has historic buildings, one-of-a kind buildings, family-owned and compelling buildings. And some of them could certainly use a sprucing up. By making grants available to business owners, the City hopes to improve the appearance and the feel of the City’s commercial, pedestrian-oriented core.

Flemister said the maximum allowed to any one business is $30,500, limited to projects estimated cost $50,000 or more, and one goal in the program’s first year is to achieve a bit better than a 50-50 match. She said the first $5,000 is “pure grant.”

To date, the City has received applications not only from the owners of the two buildings described above, but from: Hello Gorgeous, a boutique at 204 E. Main St.; the Masonic Temple at 10 Auburn Way S.; The Auburn Valley Barber Shop at 316 E. Main St.; Jason’s Coffee Shop at 129 A St. NW; Zola’s Cafe at 402 E. Main St.; the Homeplate Tavern at 144 E. Main St.; and Liberty Tax Service at 102 E. Main St.

“Theirs is actually really small in budget, but I believe it will make a huge difference in how they are viewed from the street,” Flemister said of Hello Gorgeous.

As for the Masonic Temple, which was recently added to the National Historic Register, its owners plan to restore the facade to its original condition.

“They want to put in wood store fronts,” Flemister said. “So, they want to take out all the improvements that have been made over time. They want to start on Auburn Way. They want to take out the storefront that’s at Hill of Comics and put in a wood storefront because they’ve found a design that matches the same era in which it was built. They’ve hired an architect and an expert to ensure it is historically accurate.”

“With all of these applications, do you see yourself running out of budget this year?” asked Councilman Bill Peloza.

“I think there’s a possibility that we could run through the $100,000 this year,” Flemister answered. “But, of course, until these things are actually being built, I hesitate to say that. … Some of the project proposals we are getting are not insignificant.”

Grant recipients must be property owners or business lessees with written authorization of the property owner. All projects must meet code requirements, follow all local and state laws and all current design standards. Each site must be within the BIA and dues must be current, with no restrictions to site and no current code violations.

Recipients must have no more than 25 full-time employees and cannot be in excess of 25,000 square feet of ground floor area.

The focus on the upgrades varies based on the category of the improvement, starting with improvements that can be done for less than $5,000, many of which do not require construction documents provided by an independent architect or engineer and focus on immediate, eye-catching changes, such as painting, decorative lighting, signage awnings, permanent, affixed building decorative elements, enhancements or changes to trim materials of the building.

The façade project is a component of the Mainstreet Conceptual Design Project, and both are related to the larger Community Renewal Plan for Downtown Auburn. The recent action amends the financial component of the CRP to include the Downstore Storefront Improvement Project.