Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Amending the Downtown Facade Grant Program RESOLUTION NO. 22-364 RESOLUTION AMENDING THE DOWNTOWN FACADE GRANT PROGRAM FOR THE CITY OF AMES,IOWA WHEREAS, the Downtown Facade 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 funds for eligible projects, and allows for up to $15,000 of dollar-for-dollar matching funds per front facade and up to $1,000 for additional architectural services; and, WHEREAS,the Program is available to property owners within the area generally described as from 6t' Street to the railroad tracks, Duff Avenue to Northwestern Avenue, and along Kellogg Avenue to Lincoln Way; and, WHEREAS,the Program requires compliance with specified Design Guidelines and includes a prerequisite of a ground floor use of office or retail trade; and, WHEREAS,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 to 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, WHEREAS,the Program is designed to operate in two application cycles with the first cycle typically in the summer and if there are funds remaining after the first round then a second application round occurs in the winter/spring; and, WHEREAS, the summer grant round is intended to provide funding for new projects with one grant per building and the second round is intended to fund both new projects and potentially second facades for properties that have previously received a grant; and, WHEREAS,City Council gave direction to staff on May 24,2022,to proceed with amending the Program to include eligibility for the rehabilitation of historically significant,character-defining features within the priorities of the Downtown Facade Program; and, WHEREAS, the category of facade improvement for historic rehabilitation is proposed to include the repair of original windows,including transom prism glass,and distinctive features such as cornices that might be at risk of removal; and, WHEREAS, the intent of the modification to the facade grant program is that it will incentivize property owners to retain and rehabilitate important architectural elements related to a front facade rather than replace them; and, WHEREAS, City Council had directed staff to amend the Downtown Facade Program by tying grant-eligible rehabilitation work to a non-rehabilitation grant for the first round of funding (fall) and allowing for a stand-alone rehabilitation grant in the second round of funding(spring). NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that the Amendment to the Downtown Facade Grant Program to include funding for historically significant, character-defining features is hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 28th day of June, 2022. Diane R. Voss, City Clerk John A. Haila, Mayor Introduced by: Betcher Seconded by: Beatty-Hansen Voting aye: Beatty-Hansen, Betcher, Corrieri, Gartin, Junck, Rollins Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 28th day of June, 2022.