The Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust announced it will continue its façade grant program for Gloucester’s Main Street in 2012.

Jenny Crittenden, MSPT’s executive director, said there will be $40,000 available in funding this year. The application deadline is March 9, she said, with award winners announced on April 20.

Projects selected to receive façade grants are to be complete by Nov. 1, 2012, Crittenden said.

Grants are limited to exterior building improvements, site improvements, and other aesthetic improvements that are visible from the street, Crittenden said, and MSPT has targeted the area between court circle and the Main Street Center as the focus of revitalization efforts.

According to Crittenden, this grant provides property and business owners in the Main Street area with 50/50 matching funds of up to $20,000.

"This is a competitive grant," Crittenden said, and a Design Committee will rank the impact of each project i...