Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout6. Application for Downtown Facade Improvement Program Gj).V4.~ City of Shakopee Memorandum TO: Economic Development Authority Mark McNeill, Executive Director FROM: Kris Wilson, Assistant City Administrator SUBJECT: Application for Downtown Fayade hnprovement Program DATE: August 10, 2006 INTRODUCTION The EDA is asked to consider an application for funding from the Downtown Fayade Improvement Program. BACKGROUND The EDA currently has $50,000 in a Downtown Fayade Improvement Program fund. At this time, eligible properties consist of commercial buildings in the City's historic downtown core. There was no application deadline set for the program, therefore applications are considered as they are submitted. We recently received the first such application - from Darlene Matta, owner of Babe's Place at 124 Holmes Street. At the time the Downtown Fayade hnprovement Program was approved, the EDA asked that applications be reviewed by a committee composed of one representative from each of the following groups: the Economic Development Advisory Committee, the Shakopee Downtown Partnership and the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission. That committee met, with two members in attendance, on August 10 and reviewed the application before you tonight. The applicant is requesting a $25,000 deferred loan to assist with the cost of restoring the building's original brick exterior. The applicant has received a quote from a reputable building restoration company to chemically strip and wash all paint on the exterior of the building to expose the original brick. The project also includes tuck pointing of deteriorating joints, replacement of individual cracked bricks, repair of areas with vertical cracks and tear down and restoration ofthe building's two chimneys. This work would include three sides of the building - the street facing east side, the alley facing north side and the rear or west side. The building connects to its neighbor on the south; therefore there is no work to be done on that side. The total cost of the proposed project is $54,627. The Downtown Fayade Improvement Program is structured to provide up to 50 percent of the cost of the proposed project, to a maximum of $25,000, with the remaining costs to be paid by the applicant. This funding is provid~d as a defel1"€::4 ~p(;lJl? with a term of 5 years. If the applicant continues to own the property for five years from the date of application, the entire loan would be forgiven. If the property were to be sold during this time period, the loan would have to be repaid on a sliding scale. RECOMMENDATION The committee established to review loan applications found the proposed project to closely match the goals of the Downtown Fayade Improvement Program. Therefore, they are recommending that the application be approved for the full amount of $25,000, with the following two stipulations: 1. That the property owner replace the wooden window sills currently found on the building with window sills made of cement, stone or some other material appropriate to the age and design of the building. 2. That the property owner replace the two windows currently covered with wooden boards (one on the lower level of the north side and the other on the upper level of the west side), with some form of glass material. In making this recommendation, the review committee noted that the official criteria for this loan program state that in order to be eligible, a proposed improvement must be to a street-facing fayade. This requirement was originally included in order to exclude projects such as roof or foundation repair. In the case of this applicant, the proposed improvements are toa street facing fayade, an alley-facing fa9ade that is clearlyvisible from the street and a small area on the rear of the building. The committee felt that the goals of the fa9ade improvement program were such that it should support efforts to fully restore building facades, rather than encouraging property owners to only do the minimum by restoring the front while the.letting other sides of the building fall into disrepair. Therefore, the review committee is recommending funding for the full amount of$25,000, with the recognition that a portion of this money will support improvements to facades that are not technically "street-facing." Lastly, in addition to the two stipulations listed above, the review committee would like to encourage the property owner to consider a historically appropriate awning and front door for the building at some point in the future and to preserve the historically significant wall murals found on the inside of the structure. ACTION REQUESTED If it concurs,. the ED A is . asked to authorize the appropriate staff to enter into an agreement with the owner of the property at 124 Holmes S1. for a deferred loan from the Downtown Fa9ade Improvement program to fund 50 percent of the cost ofthe proposed brick fa9ade restoration, up to a maximum of $25,000.