Throughout the year, students have seen the progress of the Campustown construction.

Now, with a grant from the city of Ames, current buildings can look forward to getting a face-lift.

The goal of the grant is to “increase the visual appeal of the district,” said Kim Hanna, executive director of the Campustown Action Association.

The city of Ames has created a line item in the budget providing up to $50,000 available in grants during the next five years.

The Campustown Façade Improvement Program grants are awarded up to $15,000, so several grants can be awarded each year.

There are a few catches in order to receive this grant.

First, businesses must be able to match the amount of the grant for their project.

Secondly, the project must maintain the unique aspects of Campustown and enhance the appearance of the building in at least one of five ways: transparency, socially, diversity, identifiably or historically.

A couple examples of a transparent business are Dogtown University or Mayhem Comics and Games. The large windows enable customers to look into the business and see the merchandise.

“We love having [windows] because we are a retail store. We love to be able to creatively display our merchandise without covering them up,” said Anne Taylor, co-owner of Dogtown University.

Taylor said Dogtown would like to change how identifiable its business is in Campustown.

“I wish when we moved over here that we thought about the signage a little more and made a sign that stuck out from the building,” Taylor said.

Some examples of diversity in Campustown would be the mural painted on the side of the old T Galaxy building and the different design of buildings.

Although the older buildings in Campustown are lacking in identification, the more prominent businesses are easily identifiable when you look down Welch Avenue and read all the business’ signs.

This year, there will be two businesses awarded the Campustown Façade Improvement Program grant.

A committee compiled of ISU students, the Campustown Action Association, architects for the project and city staff all gave feedback to the City Council for the applications.

The winners of the grant will be announced sometime in April after the City Council reviews the applications and feedback, with construction to take place during the summer.

“It’ll be an improved look overall to the district. You’ll be able to tell the difference between the new and the older buildings once the new construction is done,” Hanna said. So we want to make sure that the businesses that aren’t part of the new construction are visually appealing to customers,” Hanna said.

Campustown is also working with the city of Ames for better lighting along Chamberlain Street, Lincoln Way and Hayward Avenue.

“With signage and lighting, we’re constantly working on trying to improve those throughout the entire district,” Hanna said.

The streetlights would provide better lighting for safety and look nicer so banners could be hung from them as well.

On top of this improvement, Campustown is working to see more public art in the district.

With the Cy statue gone from Campustown, the Action Association is looking for something to take its place.

At the conclusion of construction, Kingland plans to incorporate some public art in one of the sidewalks.