Main Street Washington taking DIG grant applications

WASHINGTON — Downtown businesses have until May 1 to file letters of intent for Main Street Washington’s Downtown Investment Grants, also known as DIG grants. Previous grant users include Koller + Plus LLC and Frontier Restaurant.

Main Street Executive Director Samantha Meyer said the organization could award up to $50,000 to a project, using funds provided by the city of Washington. That cash comes with caveats, however: applicants need to secure 3:1 matching funds, and have a project cost between $100,000 and $200,000. Only buildings in the Main Street district are eligible.

Grant winners often use the money to renovate second-story areas after years of non-use, according to Meyer.

“It’s really for building rehabilitations,” she said. “You can’t buy a building with these funds, but it’s to preserve that historical aspect of your building, which is very costly. But when you need new windows, a new facade, that’s what these funds are really intended for.”

Meyer said improvements from DIG grants could improve curb value for the entire square area.

“When you visit a town, you usually go to their square,” she said. “We want to make sure that our downtown is beautiful and inviting, and having those building rehabilitations is key to that.”

Letters of intent are submitted to Main Street, before vetting by the organization’s design committee, which makes a site visit. After a scoring process, selected projects are sent to the Main Street board for approval, which in turn sends them to the city to sign off on the funding.

While that’s quite a process, Meyer said it was worth it.

“We want to give this money away,” she said. “If you’ve got a project and you think it qualifies, just shoot us a question, ask us, and we are happy to help answer and figure it out.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com