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EDA reports interest in facade improvement program; $136,000 remains for downtown projects
Summary
At a North St. Paul City EDA meeting, staff reported that a recent mailing generated interest in the facade improvement program and summarized several pending applications, with about $136,000 remaining of a $200,000 fund.
Ken, speaking to the Economic Development Authority, said the city’s recent mailing to businesses and property owners produced new applications for the facade improvement program and highlighted several projects in various stages of permitting and construction.
“The mailing did generate some interest,” Ken said, outlining applications that range from window replacement to parapet and siding repairs. He noted the EDA previously denied a VFW request because the proposed lighting and sign work did not meet program goals.
Ken described individual projects: an insurance business owned by Joseph Matthews has applied to replace bay windows and address brick and stucco work; the transcript record contains an unclear cost figure for that application and the permit had not been completed. A project on the Rosback building at 257 67th was described as a little over $14,000 for pressure washing, repainting, 12 window replacements and parapet work. Division Street Fuels at 2473 Division Street is pursuing qualifying window and door repairs after initial, ineligible parking-lot improvements were rejected. Katherine Harris’s Paperbacks Plus has a major remodel described as “over $40,000” and is eligible for up to $20,000 in program funding when the work is finished and inspected.
Ken said that, even with the pending requests, the program still shows about $136,000 remaining from the original $200,000 allocation, though one gas-station-related application was still to be determined. He said several of the approved or pending projects could be completed in the next two to three months and that staff and EDA members had visited recently completed storefront work to document benefits such as improved heating and cooling.
No formal vote or funding commitments were recorded at the meeting; the discussion was presented as an update and staff follow-up on permits, estimates and eligibility requirements.
