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KEOKUK, IOWA -- Some of the storefronts on Main Street in Keokuk could undergo a facelift in the coming months.

As Jim Whitfield reports, Main Street Keokuk Inc. Is pursuing a half million dollar community development block grant that could help redo the facades on at least 29 buildings.

Gary Johnson, a Main Street business owner, knows how important a vital and prospering Main Street is for Keokuk. He also realizes just how much help the half million dollar community development block grant would do not just for his business and storefront, but also for many other business facades between 4th and 9th streets.

For Main Street executive director Joyce Glascock, she says this is a chance to see an improvement in the downtown area. And she says it's a way to add jobs and save pieces of property. Some work has already been done with conceptual drawings of what the buildings would look like if their facades are redone if Keokuk is approved for the grant.

The pre application has to be to the state within days. And once the state gets the proper paperwork and reviews the information, Keokuk will then have to submit a full application with final approval expected early next year.

If  Keokuk is approved, the 29 property owners have been informed that they will have to contribute some of their own dollars to help with the project. But it will be based on how much frontage they have along Main Street.