Overview
- The administration announced 56 new Main Street Matters projects totaling about $17.2 million that Gov. Josh Shapiro highlighted Tuesday in West Reading.
- Shapiro pressed the Legislature to include and potentially increase funding for the program that his budget proposes at just above $20 million for 2026-27.
- Main Street Matters provides state grants for façade work, lighting, streetscape upgrades and blight remediation through the Department of Community and Economic Development.
- Local officials said the awards will fund visible downtown repairs including six façade projects on Penn Avenue and that the grants help brick-and-mortar shops compete with online retailers.
- Final funding is still unresolved as budget talks continue before the June 30 deadline in a divided legislature facing an estimated $6 billion structural deficit that could affect the program’s future.