10 communities receive $925,000 in Main Street Iowa Challenge grants
Business Record Staff Nov 14, 2023 | 2:48 pm
<1 min read time
0 wordsAll Latest News, Economic DevelopmentThe Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded $925,000 in Main Street Iowa Challenge grants to 10 communities around the state. The grants will help redevelop or rehabilitate underused buildings in an effort to stimulate economic growth and advance investment in Iowa’s historic main streets. Projects include removing a metal slipcover from a historic building in downtown Spencer to unmask its original facade and reveal historic window openings; revitalizing a vacant, derecho-damaged building in uptown Marion; and transforming a vacant historic building in downtown Burlington into an old-fashioned ice cream shop. The grants are administered through IEDA’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center and Main Street Iowa programs. The funding will be distributed in the form of matching grants to the selected Main Street programs. The estimated total cost of these 10 projects is over $3.5 million. “The Main Street Iowa Challenge grants help us revitalize and reinvest in our traditional commercial districts, which is good business,” Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, said in a statement. “It’s good for our economy and good for our state. These projects will bring new businesses and new residents to our downtown districts.”