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Board allows retrofitted storage container as downtown incubator for one year
Summary
The board approved a temporary variance permitting a retrofitted storage container to operate as a retail mobile-vendor incubator at 208 2nd Avenue for one year; the program is funded by Main Street Alabama and USDA and the Decatur Downtown Redevelopment Authority will manage tenant rotations.
The Decatur City Board of Zoning Adjustment on May 26 approved a temporary variance permitting a retrofitted storage container to serve as a retail mobile-vendor incubator at 208 2nd Avenue.
Kelly Thomas, representing the Decatur Downtown Redevelopment Authority, said the incubator was awarded to the city through grants from Main Street Alabama and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The structure is a single modified storage container that will operate as a small retail shop (no food sales) and is intended as a launch program for small businesses; tenants will rotate and not stay more than six months when possible.
Thomas said the DDRA obtained written permission from the adjacent property owner to use restroom facilities in the neighboring building for the duration of the program. She added that the building and fire departments reviewed the concept and expressed general support, though the unit is not being treated as a permanent building at this stage.
The board voted to approve the variance and included a condition that the applicant resubmit after one year for review. "We did get this through a Main Street Alabama and USDA grant," Thomas said of the award.
The incubator will remain at the specified location for one year; the DDRA said the container is part of a three-year grant award and the unit may move to another community in subsequent years as the program operates.
