DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. — The Daytona Beach Shores City Council approved a business incentive package this Tuesday in an effort to bring more businesses to the area and fill up some of their vacant buildings.

Here’s what you should know about the incentives:

1) Vacant Buildings

At the moment, there are currently 26 vacant buildings across Daytona Beach Shores, mainly on the west side. They range from former restaurants, to banks, to office buildings.

“The recession took a lot of businesses out of here,” said Cherise Wintz, the owner of Cherise’s Salon for the past 31 years.

After the recession and a hurricane, she said she saw a lot of her fellow business owners forced to close up shop.

2) Rebate

As part of the incentives package, new business owners will be eligible for up to a 10 percent rebate for the purchase price of the building. They can then use the rebate to help with the build out of that building.

"For instance if it was a restaurant, they would be able to use that rebate to be able to buy tables and chairs, lighting fixtures, ovens, etc," said Rick Frizalone, Daytona Beach Shores Council Member.

3) Lease Subsidy

If the business owners are not interested in buying a building, there are still incentives for leasing.

"We have a three-year lease subsidy program whereby the first year we will subsidize the rent 30 percent, the second year we will subsidize the rent 20 percent, and the third year we will subsidize the rent 10 percent up to $20,000."

4) Tax break

All these incentives are not just restricted to new business owners. Established businesses can take advantage as well.

"We are going to do a loyalty program where if the business is in good standing for three years, we will waive the city taxes for a three year period of time," said Frizalone.

5) Beautification

Established business owners can also take advantage of funds meant to improve their store front.

"We will also provide up to a $20,000 grant for that business to be able to improve the signage and facade of their building, which we think will help beautify Daytona Beach Shores,” said Frizalone.

According to Daytona Beach Shores, there is $150,000 \budgeted for the first year of this program, with money set aside in the economic development fund.