Ocean Springs facade grant applications to open soon for local businesses

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WXXV) — Businesses in Ocean Springs will soon have access to facade grants designed to enhance and revitalize downtown commercial properties while encouraging local growth.

The Ocean Springs facade grant improvement program is returning for 2026 to help business owners in the Downtown Main Street District restore, improve, or make additions to their storefronts. With a total of $30,000 in funding, Ocean Springs Main Street will award businesses for eligible improvements such as painting, signage, lighting and awnings.

“A facade is basically the outside of a building. If you wanna re-do lighting, a window, signage, landscaping on the front of your building, then you actually have the opportunity to get a grant to help fund that. We feel when you improve your facade, it helps the aesthetic of town, and of course, it’s just like flowers — when you add something beautiful, it attracts more people and more economic vitality,” said Cynthia Sutton, CEO of the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce – Main Street Tourism Bureau.

Plus, the requirements for applications are pretty simple.

“You can get up to about $2,500 matching grant to re-do some of the facade of your building. You have to be a member of the Ocean Springs Chamber – Main Street. You have to be in the Mississippi Power serving area. So, If you are a business owner that is in downtown, all the way on Highway 90 through the hospital, then you are eligible to apply for this Ocean Springs Chamber- Main Street Facade Grant Program,” Sutton said.

This program has helped countless Ocean Springs businesses over the years. Tri-Hard Sports on Porter Avenue was a 2025 grant recipient. Owner Duncan Perkins says the grant helped them pay for new signage in the front of their business.

“It made the front of our building even better and brighter. We got to use a local artist to make an amazing sign that really perked up the front of the building. It looks great up there. It’s drawn more people in and made the whole town look better,” said Perkins. “The better our town looks, the more and more folks wanna come and say, ‘Hey’ and come hang out. It all rolls together and gets better and better.”

Facade grant applications open on Friday, April 10 and close on May 20. Visit the Ocean Springs Chamber website to learn more.