The Knoxville City Council approved the framework for the 2025 Municipal Facade Grant Program at their meeting Monday.

This will be the fourth year of the grant program, and the council approved $50,000 to be contributed to the fund, which they have done the previous two years. To date, 44 matching grants have been approved, with 33 of those projects being completed and another seven remain in progress. A change to this year’s program is that it is not just limited to businesses in downtown Knoxville, with businesses on Highway 14 and W Pleasant St. also having the ability to participate. City Manager Heather Ussery says they have made small changes to the program every year since it began.

“2022 was our first year and each year we have kind of tweaked the program as we’ve learned from it and what the business owners are seeking and what we feel the rules should be for the program so this was an opportunity to discuss this with council and set the framework as we go out for applications for 2025.”

There is also an allocation for a downtown signage program included in the funding.