DDA announces CDBG demolition award, submits $3.3M housing grant for Ferguson Building

Pam Thayer, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority, told council the DDA and city received a partial CDBG award for demolition and clearance of the Wyoming Bar. The grant award totaled $493,947.55 on a $507,000 request, leaving a shortfall of about $13,000. Thayer said environmental review will be required because this is federal CDBG funding and that staff will develop a work plan and move forward with the project steps.

Thayer also said the DDA linked and submitted a funding request in excess of $3.3 million for renovation of the Ferguson Building to create housing and noted the DDA previously ran a $3.5 million resolution but submitted $3.3 million for the current round. She emphasized the grants are specifically for housing activities and not for water or streets, and said "No city funds will go into this property going forward. Any additional funds to do the apartments will be either debt services, loans, grants, or fundraising."

The director cited a DDA-commissioned feasibility analysis that used an assumed rent figure of about $1.25 per square foot; she noted that would translate to roughly $1,250 per month for a typical 1,000-square-foot two-bedroom unit, including many utilities, and that final rents will be set by market conditions once construction is complete. Thayer said the grants and Brownfields technical assistance have been in development since late 2022 and that the DDA will bring more detailed plans and a SLIB presentation in May for some funding approvals.

Council thanked the DDA for the grant work and asked staff to keep the public informed as environmental reviews and work plans move forward.