PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (WTAJ)– Over the last 10 years, community grants have helped fund improvement projects in downtown Punxsutawney– the latest is a mural.

The newly completed mural is on the side of Roseman’s Florist in Punxsutawney.

Building owner Mark Young said it replaces the old mural, which was falling apart.

“It started flaking and looking a little bit on the rundown side, so we applied for the grant to be able to have the mural that we have today,” Young said.

The mural was painted by local artist Kelly Porada.

The grant came from Punxsutawney PRIDE– an organization working to revitalize downtown.

One way they help make that possible is by awarding those community-funded grants to the business owners wishing to take on those improvements.

“The people here appreciate the improvement in the community, and we know the visitors do because we hear about how people think Punxsutawney is a nice looking community,” Shirley Sharp said.

The group has funded new coats of paint, signs and awnings.

Young said this year he hopes to use a grant to keep adding to the mural.

“Get some new siding, put some lighting on the mural, and just dress the building up,” Young said.

The grant application is closed for this year, but PRIDE is already encouraging business owners to start thinking of improvement projects they want to complete for the next round of applications.