Jun. 19—GREENSBURG — A rundown downtown building is getting a second lease on life thanks to a recently approved agreement.
The Greensburg City Council approved a private-public partnership between Main Street Greensburg and the city of Greensburg at their June 13 meeting. Economic Development Director Bryan Robbins presented the partnership agreement, describing it as a project "probably years in the making, addressing a dilapidated building downtown," which has been condemned.
The address, 132 N. Franklin Street, is the former site of the Wooden Bench shop. Robbins said he thinks the building hasn't been open for commerce since 2013. The building is in disrepair and was determined to be a public safety hazard due to deterioration. He said it needs to be preserved, if possible, so the city isn't eventually forced to raze it.
A local developer has expressed interest in restoring the site, Robbins said, if the city was willing to help. He did not reveal who that developer is.
READI funding, Robbins explained, allows for the development of the Preserve Main Street project.
"In this project, essentially what we're doing is leveraging ARPA dollars from the city to not only revamp and repair that building, but also leverage READI dollars to help finish off the two sides of the downtown. With this investment that's being requested from ARPA dollars we're attracting a total investment of $3 million into our downtown."
The advantages of entering into the agreement for the city, Robbins said, is that it ensures the structural improvements will be paid up to code.
"The city will have oversight on what the city's funds are going to," he said. "This will bring the building back on the tax roll and make sure the adjoining buildings aren't going to be damaged."
The public-private partnership agreement specifies that the building's first floor remains commercial space. The second floor will have apartments.
The partnership agreement was approved.
City engineer Ron May presented ordinance 2023-05 regarding an annexation. This was approved. May and representatives from First Christian Church presented ordinance 2023-06, relating to an alley vacation. The alley runs east from Broadway Street and is located north of Central Avenue, south of Hendricks Street. The church's goal is to widen the alley entrance and restructure their parking; the alley will not be blocked during construction. Ordinance 2023-06 was approved.
Amy Borns, city clerk-treasurer, presented the second reading of ordinance 2023-08, an additional appropriation for the airport. The airport wants to purchase a large mowing vehicle, which they can afford but which isn't in their budget this year. This request passed.