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BLOOMFIELD, IOWA -- Many downtown Bloomfield businesses will receive a facelift thanks to a half a million dollar grant.

The Bloomfield Main Street organization received the Community Development Block Grant for Downtown Revitalization for façade restoration through the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

The grant will be used to help renovate many buildings on the square.

“(We will do) general maintenance that relates to the historic aspects of the buildings. A lot of the buildings need tuck pointing of the brick. A lot of the buildings are over 125 years old,” said Bloomfield Main Street President Doug Dixon.

In addition to tuck pointing, the buildings will receive new windows, awnings and painting.

Being on the National Register’s list of Historic Places, Dixon hopes they can attract more tourists with renovated building.

“We applied for this grant looking to improve on our tourism efforts. We had a lot of help from our city partners, the city really stepped up on this and other community partners. Hopefully this will make a big difference to the historic square of Bloomfield,” Dixon said.

Dixon said they are continuing to pursue additional grants to help fund these projects.

“Were actually applying for more funds to complete the project and additionally were working towards streetscape, improvements to the streets and to the sidewalks,” Dixon said.