Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Campustown Facade Grants RESOLUTION NO. 15-224 RESOLUTION APPROVING CAMPUSTOWN FACADE GRANT PILOT PROJECTS FOR THE CITY OF AMES,IOWA WHEREAS, a new Campustown Facade Program is being developed to enhance the appearance of Campustown commercial buildings, fulfilling the objective outlined by the City Council of supporting Campustown; and, WHEREAS, the goal of the proposed Campustown Facade Program is to promote diverse building styles and increased activity and commercial use, and the proposed program supports enriching the individual detail and character of each building within the context of a pedestrian oriented commercial district; and, WHEREAS, the City Council approved design concepts for facade enhancements in November 2014 as embodied the Campustown Facade Ideabook; and, WHEREAS,the Council has budgeted$32,000 for two pilot projects in the 2014/2015 fiscal year, anticipating two projects that will each match $15,000 in construction cost and two reimbursements to each of professional design fees of$1,000; and, WHEREAS, the Council also directed staff to solicit grant requests and carry out two pilot improvement projects for a Campustown Facade Program based on the following concepts from the Ideabook: Transparent Campustown, Social Campustown, Diverse Campustown, Identifiable Campustown, and Historic Campustown; and, WHEREAS,the City Council also identified the Campustown Service Center zoning district south of the ISU Campus and Neighborhood Commercial zoning district on West Street as the areas within which properties are eligible for the pilot project grants; and, WHEREAS, the City invited building owners and businesses from these areas to apply for the pilot project grants, and City staff, Facade Working Group, and the City's architectural consultant, Haila Architecture Structure Planning,have worked with the two building owners who applied, and while there are two projects, there are a total of three facade grant requests as one project has requested two grants; and, WHEREAS, 2812 West Street is the home of West Street Deli, and the facade of this one- story building,which includes wood siding,two large windows and a recessed raised entry,will be changed, while retaining and emphasizing the two different planes in the facade surface; and, WHEREAS, the estimated cost of this facade project is $30,000; and, WHEREAS, the Cranford Building is a corner property addressed as 103 Stanton, and the building contains Jeff's Pizza and The Singer Station along its Lincoln Way frontage; and, WHEREAS,this building has historical interest because it was designed and constructed in 1922 by the first woman to receive an engineering degree from Iowa State and because it was funded by women faculty and graduate students as their residence; and, WHEREAS,the street level retail facade is now covered up by wood panels and has windows and doors of a variety of sizes,and there is a strong likelihood that much of the original facade is still in place behind the wood covering and the building owners wish to restore the historic appearance as much as possible; and, WHEREAS, the applicant has requested two facade grants for this project, and the design reflects two separate tenant spaces and changes in floor elevation for different facades; and, WHEREAS, if only one grant is awarded,the owner may only do one facade project at this time;the estimated cost of the Jeff's Pizza facade is$130,553;and,the estimated cost of The Singer Station facade is $41,196. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that $16,000 for the Campustown facade pilot project for 2810 West Street and $16,000 for the Campustown facade pilot project for Jeff's Pizza in the Cranford Building at 103 Stanton Avenue are hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 14th day of April, 2015. A. Diane R. Voss, City Clerk Ann H. Campbell, Mayor Introduced by: Goodman Seconded by: Nelson Voting aye: Betcher, Corrieri, Gartin, Goodman,Nelson, Orazem Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 14th day of April, 2015.