The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) on Oct. 20 awarded Jefferson Matters: A Main Street & Chamber Community a $100,000 grant for Art on the Fly and the Columbian Block building, located at 114 N. Wilson Ave. Twelve other Main Street Iowa communities also received grants.
Jolene Peters, owner of Art on the Fly, responded by saying, “I am so grateful to have the opportunity to revitalize a historic downtown building. I am thankful for everyone who helped me write the grant, wrote letters of support and encouraged me along the way.”
The facade project includes three sides of the building, as the back of the building faces the much-used alley east of Home State Bank, and the south side of the building is on the alley slated for renovation by the Jefferson Matters: Main Street & Chamber Community’s Tower View Team.
Total cost of the project is $294,139. The city of Jefferson awarded the project a $145,000 facade improvement grant earlier this fall.
“The Main Street Iowa Challenge grants have been instrumental in revitalizing Iowa’s historic main streets,” said IEDA and Iowa Finance Authority director Debi Durham. “Reinvesting in our traditional commercial districts is good business. It’s good for our economy and good for our state. These projects will bring new businesses and new residents to our downtown districts.”
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 project cost of these 13 projects is over $3.6 million.
Since the first Challenge Grants were awarded in 2002, approximately $12.8 million in state and federal funds have leveraged nearly $65 million in private investment. Over the life of the program, 206 projects in 56 Main Street Iowa commercial districts across the state have received funding.
