The city of Albert Lea is looking at applying for a grant that would help improve downtown buildings.

A meeting was held Wednesday night at City Hall to gauge the interest of downtown Albert Lea building owners in participating in the Small Cities Development Program.

Money would be granted to the city from federal funds doled through the state of Minnesota. The city would then allocate the money to interested building owners in the downtown district as low-interest loans.

Under the program, the city can apply for a maximum of $1.4 million in grant money. The maximum amount for one commercial building is $40,000.

A limited amount of grants are available, so the city is looking at putting together a competitive request for the grant. That topic was discussed Wednesday evening.

Albert Lea’s downtown Heritage Preservation District is expected to be the main area of focus for the program if it’s approved.

The grant isn’t expected to cost Albert Lea residents any money.

The grant is meant to help cities and counties with funding for housing, public infrastructure and commercial rehabilitation projects.

All SCDP projects must either:

• Benefit people of low and moderate income,

• Eliminate slum and blight conditions and/or

• Eliminate an urgent threat to public health and safety.

The comprehensive SCDP project is expected to provide funding for two main parts, including economic development activity and housing.

Under the program, economic development activity may include loans, inclusive of forgivable and match components, from the grant recipient to building owners for rehabilitation.

Examples of eligible improvements include:

• Exterior repairs and improvements (windows, doors, signage and roofing),

• Code violation corrections (handrails, exit signs, health and safety issues,

• Handicapped accessibility conversions,

• Energy improvements (heating system upgrades and insulation)

Under the program, housing may include partially forgivable loans that are available for the purpose of local housing rehabilitation. In all cases, housing funds must benefit low and moderate income people.

Examples of eligible improvements include:

• Repairs to address health and safety issues (plumbing, heating, electrical and lead hazard repairs,

• Handicapped accessibility conversions,

• Repairs to the structure and exterior envelope. This covers foundation repairs, windows, doors, siding and roofing.

 

The city has never been awarded a SCDP grant. The Albert Lea Housing & Redevelopment Authority received grants in 2011 for $379,500 and 2015 for $483,640.

“The money provides a method for the maintenance and restoration of the commercial dock of buildings in our downtown district,” WSB & Associates, Inc. planner Molly Patterson-Lundgren said. WSB & Associates, a professional consulting and design firm, provides city planning services for the city of Albert Lea.

“It’s important to have a strong downtown and economic base for businesses and the grant will help with that,” Patterson-Lundgren said.

“If the grant funding doesn’t come through then it’s harder for people to finance their preservation of their building,” Patterson-Lundgren said.

Preliminary applications need to be sent by November. Patterson-Lundgren said the earliest work could take place in is summer 2016.

The Albert Lea City Council passed a resolution indicating their support of the grant application Monday night at their bi-monthly meeting.

“This will be a good program because it will help downtown landowners rehabilitate and upkeep buildings to make them viable,” Albert Lea councilman Larry Baker said Wednesday evening at the meeting.

“It’s important because I grew up here. When I grew up it was the heart of the city and I think it’s important that we get back to that.”

Businesses that were originally downtown were transferred to malls on the outskirts of town, Baker said.

He said having diverse businesses downtown will allow people to shop and enjoy the downtown area.