Illinois grant could kick-start Pontiac downtown revitalization [Video]

PONTIAC (25News Now) – Since 2021, Pontiac has been working to revitalize their well-known downtown area, and now the city is taking advantage of an opportunity to jump-start the effort.

The cost of their downtown plan is around $10 to $15 million.

The city applied for the Rebuild Downtown Main Streets Capital Program to help with the funding. City Administrator Jim Woolford said this is funded through the Department of Illinois Commerce and Economic Opportunities.

If the city gets this grant, funding could range from $200,000 to $2 million.

“It does a couple of great things for us, it kick-starts the program, so it puts us in a position to move on to the next phase when this one is done,” Woolford said.

The city is focusing on Madison Street to Chicago Street, and East Oak Street to the west. This area has the longest stretch of stores and retail, it’s blocks from old Route 66. Of …