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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - FY 2021/22 Downtown Facade Grant RESOLUTION NO. 22-239 RESOLUTION APPROVING FY 2021/22 DOWNTOWN FACADE GRANT FOR THE CITY OF AMES,IOWA WHEREAS, the Downtown Fagade Grant Program was introduced in 2000 to facilitate private improvements to Downtown retail and other commercial storefronts; and, WHEREAS,the City Council annually budgets $50,000 as matching grants for eligible projects; this Program is available to property owners within the area generally described as from 6th Street to the railroad tracks, from Duff Avenue to Northwestern Avenue, and along Kellogg Avenue to Lincoln Way; and, WHEREAS,the Program includes up to$15,000 of dollar-for-dollar matching funds per facade and up to $1,000 for additional architectural services; and, WHEREAS,the Program requires compliance with specified Design Guidelines,and the Program requirements include a prerequisite of a ground floor use of office or retail trade; and, WHEREAS, additionally, grant eligibility includes a requirement for proposed improvements to retain the historic facade or for the removal of non-compliant elements consistent with the guidelines or pursue eligibility under the other facade guidelines; and, WHEREAS, the Program does not allow for maintenance activities or replacement of compliant elements with new in-kind elements as eligible activities on their own,and any proposed improvements are intended to have a significant positive visual impact on the building and the district overall; and, WHEREAS,if grant requests exceed the available funding,the program criteria include preferences for facades that have not received previous funding, for front facades; and, WHEREAS, the Program is designed to operate with two application cycles: the first cycle is typically in the summer, and if there are remaining funds after awards in the first round, then a second application round occurs in the winter; and, WHEREAS,the summer grant round is intended to provide funding for new projects with one grant per building;the second round is intended to fund new proj ects and potentially second facades for properties that have already received a grant; and, WHEREAS,the City solicited applications for this second round of FY 2021/22 funding in March and April of 2022 and received one eligible grant request for one property; and, WHEREAS,total requested grant funding is$10,335.50 and the available funding for this second round of FY 2021/22 is $34,000; and, WHEREAS, the application is for a two-story building at 410 Douglas Avenue known as the Pantorium; and, WHEREAS, the facade is largely unchanged from when it was constructed in 1922, and the proposed, grant-eligible work is to replace the second-story windows; and, WHEREAS, the current configuration has six windows: four that closely match the original windows and two narrow ones on either side of the Pantorium sign; and, WHEREAS, the applicant intends to replace these windows with five windows, as originally constructed and the new windows will not have the decorative muntins; and, WHEREAS,the Ames History Society owns the subject property and the property immediately to the north,which houses the Ames History Center; and, WHEREAS,the subject project was purchased recently by the Historical Society with the intent to construct an addition and allow for the museum to occupy all ground-level space; and, WHEREAS,along with replacing the second-story windows,the Pantorium sign will be restored, the masonry will be repaired and cleaned, and new doors will be installed; and, WHEREAS,the total estimated cost for 410 Douglas Avenue is$44,831.62,including design work, and of that amount, $20,671.07 is estimated to be grant-eligible work(including$730 for design); and, WHEREAS, the project is eligible for maximum matching funding of$15,000 plus $1,000 for design work. NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames,Iowa,that the Downtown Facade Improvement Grant for 410 Douglas Avenue for up to$10,335.50 of the$20,671.07 in estimated eligible costs for the second-story window replacement is hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 10th day of May, 2022. Diane R. Voss, City Clerk John A. Haila, Mayor Introduced by: Betcher Seconded by: Junck Voting aye: Beatty-Hansen, Betcher, Corrieri, Gartin, Junck, Rollins Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this loth day of May, 2022.