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Coldwater Community Center seeks grants after SHPO report finds unsafe porch; repairs estimated at $500,000
Summary
Coldwater Community Center reported a May structural-engineering report from the State Historic Preservation Office finding significant structural problems and an unusable side porch; Director Kathy Bapper said the porch repair could cost about $500,000 and the center has applied to Chippewa for a rural partnership grant.
Kathy Bapper updated the Downtown Development Authority on July 22 about structural concerns at the Coldwater Community Center, citing a State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) structural-engineering report completed in May. "What that structural analysis told us is we've got some structural problems in that building," Bapper told the board, noting the building was constructed in 1859 as a residence and the engineering review cautioned against putting 135 people in the building at once because the joists are too far apart.
Bapper said the center submitted an application to Chippewa for a rural partnership grant to address structural repairs but emphasized that the grant would not cover all needs; she identified the side porch as particularly unsafe and said, "That is going to cost about $500,000 to do that." Meanwhile, the center can continue limited activities on the first floor, and staff are pursuing additional grants and fundraising. Bapper also reported ongoing programs (sewing classes, fundraising events) and asked the board and community to help spread information about legal pathways for immigrants after changes in Temporary Protected Status increased tension in the neighborhood.
