Work is progressing on the three buildings the city of Jefferson owns in the historic downtown district, city administrator Mike Palmer told the county supervisors Monday during his monthly update.
The building at 205 N. Wilson, the first of the city’s acquisitions, now has new windows and work is being done on the second story. “It’s quite the look up there now. It’s more historically accurate to what it was,” Palmer said.
Work on the main floor and the basement is ongoing, including structural work. The basement floor is still dirt; the city intends to pour a concrete floor. He said the floor on the main level was structurally weakened by a fire years ago and also needs work….. “the fun part of owning an old building,” he said.
Linda’s Fashions, in the middle of the block on Lincoln Way, is now known as the Kendall building, Palmer told the supervisors. He said Ray and Rosie Tucker want to “occupy” the building, and a development agreement would be in place between them and the city. With the development agreement in place, the city will be able to use tax increment financing (TIF) for rehabilitating the building. The city budgeted $150,000 for rehabilitation and has spent $45,000.
(Palmer said after the meeting that the development agreement will specify that the Tuckers are responsible for improvements to the second story living quarters. The agreement will take into consideration the public funds spent on the building – both city funds and any future Main Street funds – and set a schedule of years over which the public investment is “forgiven.” It will be similar to the owner-occupied home rehabilitation loans available through the USDA via Region XII Council of Governments. The agreement will also stipulate that the Tuckers operate a viable business on the street level. The Tuckers plan to open an antique shop there.)
The third rehabilitation project is at 200 E. State St. Palmer said a large portion of the parapet on the west side of the building was replaced. He said “a fair amount” of tuckpointing is still needed, and when that’s finished, a new roof will be installed.
He said when work is done there, the city hopes to enter into a development agreement for further improvements. The goal is to stabilize the building. Chiropractor Amber Lawton is continuing to operate her practice on the main floor of the building.
The three buildings are not the first downtown rehabilitation projects. The building at 101 N. Chestnut St was rehabilitated five or six years ago with private funding provided by local investors.
It has housed retailers and professional offices. It is currently home to Liberty Tax Service, All Ability Cycles, and Interpretations music studio.
