The deadline to apply for the Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust façade grants is Friday.

MSPT executive director Jenny Crittenden said the projects selected to participate this year will receive up to $40,000 in improvements to their buildings and sites along the commercial core of Gloucester’s Main Street. The grant is a 50/50 match.

The most any one applicant can receive is $20,000, Crittenden said.

"It’s no secret that improving the storefront of your business increases revenue inside the business," Crittenden said, adding that "façade grant programs are used on many Main Streets as an economic development tool and we believe it’s one that has worked well here in Gloucester."

The largest of last year’s façade projects, she said, was providing $20,000 for parking lot and beautification improvements to the Lewis B. Puller Center, an affiliate of the Arc of the Virginia Peninsula. MSPT presents a check for...