Program Description
The Commercial Area Revitalization District program (CARD) assists communities with older downtowns or commercial centers to channel private and public investment into these targeted areas in order to redress the economic decline and physical deterioration that accompanies disinvestment. The Division of Community Services approves and helps municipalities develop and implement CARD plans.
760 CMR 13.00: CARD Regulation 
Commercial Area Revitalization Districts Information
Eligible Applicants
All Massachusetts municipalities that contain one or more older commercial centers that are able to demonstrate that these areas are experiencing disinvestment are eligible to apply to DHCD for a CARD designation for one or more of these areas.
Eligible Activities
Municipalities use the CARD designation to channel private and public investment into targeted areas in order to redress the economic decline and physical deterioration that accompanies disinvestment.
DHCD provides no direct funding for the CARD Program.
Selection Criteria
A CARD application must include evidence of commercial disinvestment, strategies to reverse this disinvestment, evidence that the area is predominantly commercial, evidence that plan development was publicized and that the business community was involved in the process and is committed to its implementation, consistency with other local plans, identification of a local implementing agency and adoption of the plan by the local governing body.
How to Apply
Communities interested in obtaining a CARD designation must submit a CARD application to DHCD.
Additional Resources
International Downtown Association
Downtown Research & Development Center
Massachusetts Office of Business Development
State-Subsidized Environmental Insurance
Massachusetts Brownfields Redevelopment
Massachusetts Historical Commission
MassWorks Infrastructure Program
Contact
For additional information, please call the Division of Community Services at 617-573-1400.