The Façade Grant provides the opportunity for two Campustown businesses to improve their appearance along with the rest of the district.

Two Campustown businesses, West Street Deli and Jeff’s Pizza are the recipients of the Campustown Façade Grant Pilot Project, which offers $16,000 for renovation projects that “promote diverse building styles and increased activity and commercial use,” according to the City Council action form.

Through the façade grant, the businesses selected for the grant must have projects that also match the amount of money rewarded.

Elliot Krueger, general store manager and director of efforts of Jeff’s Pizza, said with all the construction, business owners in Campustown have experienced a lot of change.

“Everyone’s world has been turned around,” Krueger said. “Like everyone else in the area, we’re holding tight and hoping for the best.”

Jeff’s Pizza’s renovations will include an update to the east entrance of the building and restoration.

The building, or Cranford apartments, was built in 1922 by the first woman to receive an engineering degree from Iowa State and was originally used for housing for teachers.

Plans for construction include “staying true to originality of the building,” Krueger said.

Throughout time, the Jeff’s Pizza building has had additions of plaster over brick over plaster, and the new plans hope to restore the building to its original state, Krueger said.

Plans also include a canopy that would “help shed waterfall off the sidewalk,” Krueger said. This would make the area next to Jeff’s Pizza safer during the winter months.

People can also expect to see larger windows included in the project.

West Street Deli is the other recipient of the Campustown Façade Grant Pilot Project.

West Street Deli hopes to improve its appearance by removing the vinyl sign in the window and replacing it with a sign that is perpendicular to the building as well as replace the aging siding with cedar wood.

Joe Paulson, co-owner of the property of West Street Deli said he applied for the grant because it is meant to spruce up neighborhoods.

“It allows us to do something sooner than later,” Paulson said. “I thought at this point we could improve the aesthetics of the building.”

Although West Street Deli is not technically considered part of Campustown, the City Council identified it, as well as the area south of campus, as eligible recipients of the grant, according to the council action form.

“I thought it was a good project for the Campustown area,” Paulson said. “I think sprucing up the building will be advantageous to the businesses there.”

The grant also required the applicants to meet several requirements to qualify as a “pedestrian oriented commercial district,” according to the council action form.

This included such changes as having a transparent and recognizable business from the street, a diverse and historic building to contradict the many changes happening in Campustown and a variety of options such as indoor and outdoor seating for customers to chose from.

Total spending for the projects include $130,553 for the Cranford apartments building and $41,196 for the West Street Deli building.