In order to help renew the economic vitality of downtown, the city of Columbia developed an incentive program to improve building façades within the downtown Business Improvement District (BID) – Façade Improvement Program (FIP) - a forgivable loan opportunity. By offering assistance to property owners or business tenants to make improvements to building façades, this program is able to arrest and prevent blight, contribute to the opportunity to create jobs, and restore and expand the area’s economic vitality.