10 Communities Receive $950,000 in Main Street Iowa Challenge Grants

award recipients holding giant checks

November 6, 2025 (DES MOINES, IA) — The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) today awarded $950,000 in Main Street Iowa Challenge Grants to 10 communities across the state. The grants help rehabilitate underutilized downtown buildings to stimulate economic growth and further investment in Iowa’s historic main streets.  

Projects include: 

  • Corning — Restoring a long-vacant historic building to house a health-focused grocery store, expanding access to fresh, nutritious foods.  

  • Washington — Rehabilitating a fire-damaged historic building to establish a new architecture office on the ground floor, stabilizing the structure and laying the foundation for future upper-floor residential redevelopment. 

  • Waverly — Renovating 2,904 square feet of vacant second-story space in a historic building to create two modern, two-bedroom apartments. 

“These projects are examples of the creativity and persistence we see in communities across Iowa,” said Debi Durham, director of IEDA and the Iowa Finance Authority. “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,” said Jim Engle, director of the Iowa Downtown Resource Center. “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. 

For more information about the Main Street Iowa Challenge Grant program, contact Sarah Lembke at 515.348.6181 or sarah.lembke@iowaeda.com.