Building refurbish plan needs additional funds

If additional money is not raised a Creston building could be razed.

After pooling funds from the city of Creston, Creston Waterworks, the state and a Creston non-profit, another $250,000 is needed to secure the renovation of 110 and 112 N. Maple St. which has been a Creston City Council agenda item in recent years.

“In early 2019, I and others began work on an alternative approach; the rehabilitation project known as Agnew Lofts and is a path to saving the structures,” stated Creston Mayor Gabe Carroll.

Formerly known as the location of Palms and Van Gedler’s Clothing, the vision was to extensively refurbish both properties from facade and infrastructure to create retail and residential space.

Addam Wall, a 2001 Creston High and 2003 Southwestern Community College graduate, who has led the idea of saving the building, doesn’t want this building to come down.

“I came back in 2018 and saw what had happened on Maple. I started working with Gabe to mitigate any future loss of buildings in Uptown Creston,” he said. Wall said he has experience in real estate development after attending Arizona State. He also has worked with low-income housing projects across the country.

“I thought I could do something similar,” he said.

The plan is to have 12 rental units, a mix of one and two-bedroom, and retail space on the ground level. Wall said the retail space will be made neutral so interested tenants can have the ability to custom design their own space.

“It won’t be anything specific for what kind of retail. We will work with UCDA as we progress,” he said.

Carroll said the vision does have a cost.

“The proposed project does a carry a hefty price tag of an estimated $2.1 million, but it aims to be a unique partnership between government, charity and private investment,” he said.

Funding that has been approved for the work include $225,000 from the city of Creston’s low-to-moderate income housing fund; $600,000 upper-story housing grant through the Iowa Economic Development Authority through a Community Block Development Grant; Creston Waterworks for upgrades of water main on Maple Street; $125,000 from Uptown Revitalization Growth for Everyone, a Creston non-profit; estimated $800,000 in private financing through a commercial loan; $225,000 in private equity.

Carroll said UR-GE will be involved in the completed building’s future.

“Once completed, the properties’ management will be overseen by local businesses and consultants, all supervised by the UR-GE board of directors. UR-GE will also receive 100% of all the properties’ net profits over the first 15 years for reinvestment into Creston,” Carroll said. That is estimated between $20,000 and $30,000 a year.

A construction loan is needed for the interior demolition and asbestos removal. Carroll said the national lending market has made acquiring funding a challenge which has delayed the start of the work.

“Without securing this final piece of funding, the project may die, the buildings would continue to deteriorate and taxpayers will once again pay the enormous price to abate a building that has been around for over a century and any additional fundraising that we can accomplish toward the needed $250,000 only aids in the potential in receiving private financing,” Carroll said.

Carroll said without all the funding to pay for the work, the buildings will be reminders, and a repeat, of what happened in 2018 to the Places building, also in the 100 block of North Maple.

“The demolition of the Places building not only cost a substantial amount of unrecoupable dollars but also created an unfortunate aesthetic scar on Maple Street architecture. Comparatively, the potential removal of 110 and 112 North Maple could cost upwards of $1 million and wholly decimate the look and feel of one of he oldest blocks in the community.”

Carroll said the removal of Places was about $650,000.

“Please join me in contributing whatever you can to help get this project off the ground. We need to preserve our history. We need to provide affordable housing. We need updated affordable commercial space for our small businesses And we need to preserve our tax base and avoid paying for another empty lot,” Carroll said.

His business, Carroll Family Chiropractic, has donated $10,000 to UR-GE to help create affordable housing.

“The more the community contributes to this project, the more this project will give back to our community through the reinvestment of property income in the community in the future,” Carroll said.

Those interested can contact UR-GE board members Jean Weishaar, Wayne Pantini, Adam Snodgrass or Carroll.