Downtown revitalization project will also leverage private investment.
Special to the Times Vedette
The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) awarded $950,000 in Main Street Iowa Challenge Grants to 10 communities across the state this week. The grants help rehabilitate underutilized downtown buildings to stimulate economic growth and further investment in Iowa’s historic main streets.
Guthrie Center received $50,000 to restore a vacant historic building with a renewed brick façade, new windows and doors, updated systems and a refreshed interior. The finished space will be ready for a future tenant, supporting reinvestment and renewed activity in the downtown core. Steve Smith, Roberta Gilson, Rebecca Peterson, Diane Flanery, Dennis Flanery, Carter Nordman and Brenda Dudley were among those who attended the awards presentation today at IEDA’s office in Des Moines.
“These projects are examples of the creativity and persistence we see in communities across Iowa,” Debi Durham, director of IEDA and the Iowa Finance Authority, said. “When we invest in our main streets, we’re investing in the places where people come together — where entrepreneurs get their start, where families build memories and where the character of our communities truly shines.”
The grants are administered through IEDA’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center and Main Street Iowa programs. The funding will be distributed to the selected projects in the form of matching grants to their local Main Street programs. The estimated total cost of these 10 projects is nearly $3.6 million.
“These grants give a significant boost to excellent ideas that might not get off the ground otherwise,” Jim Engle, director of the Iowa Downtown Resource Center, said. “Each completed project lifts the entire district — when you see lights back on in an upper floor or a storefront filled again, it sends a strong signal that good things are happening, and more are on the way.”
Since the first Challenge Grants were awarded in 2002, more than $16.5 million in funding has leveraged nearly $73.5 million in further investment.