by Eric Stearley

eric@thepaperofwabash.com

A decade ago, downtown Wabash was lackluster. Many old buildings, which once housed thriving businesses, were vacated and in a state of disrepair.

“When you drive through a town, that first opinion, that first thing you see, is the impression you get, and something had to be done with that in our downtown,” said Mayor Robert Vanlandingham. “We had old buildings, and they were in need of help. Marketplace stepped in and has just done a heck of a job.”

Four years ago, Wabash Marketplace awarded grant money to building owners looking to improve the façades of their buildings. It was a catalyst for the remodeling of Charley Creek Inn, Eagles Theatre, and nearly two-dozen other buildings

Downtown building owner Lisa Gillman took advantage of the program, using the grant as part of larger project to remodel the buildings at 41 and 47 West Market Street. Since completion, two new businesses, Lost Treasures in Tyme and Bash Boutique, have opened. The second floor of both buildings was remodeled, creating two luxury apartments. An open house is scheduled Sept. 25 from 5-8 p.m.

All told, the $174,000 grant total leveraged more than $30 million in downtown investment and brought over 100 jobs to Wabash. With the help of the Stellar Communities designation, Phase 2 will be much bigger.

“The gap request is a little over $1.3 million, so now we can really do some significant changes. One of the big things downtown is that we have this incredibly cohesive, held together downtown of historical buildings. We are not missing every third building all the way thru downtown like many downtowns are,” said Wabash Marketplace Executive Director Patrick Sullivan. “You know, when you start losing a tooth here and there, it starts looking bad really quickly, and we’ve been able to keep this cohesive look all the way throughout downtown. So having those historical buildings, but we need to make sure we keep them intact and keep them going.”

This year’s Stellar application identified 22 building owners seeking façade grants. Individual projects range in size from the $405,500 façade renovation of what will become Rock City Lofts to Wabash Red Cross’s $10,000 project. Other notable businesses named in the application include Schlemmer Bros., Center Court Barbershop, Thriftalicious, Gallery 64, The Francis Shoppe, and Modoc’s Market. Two projects, however, have been given first priority: The Wabash County Historical Museum and The Bradley Building, which formerly housed Jack’s Antiques.

“Both of those buildings are on a gateway, and both have multiple facades that face the public, so you have 13,000 cars going by [every day],” said Sullivan. “[The Bradley Building] is an important building. There are three major façades, and it’s in a little bit of a state of disrepair, and we need to get some progress on it. The city, as well as the State of Indiana, is willing to help, so that’s something that we can market to potential buyers.”

While in much better condition than The Bradley Building, the museum is in need of new paint and some localized brick repairs.

“The museum is one of the entities we count upon for leveraging tourism dollars,” said Economic Development Group CEO Bill Konyha. “If we can manage to get people to come here, and we can get them to come into the museum and spend some money in the museum, it helps out our entire tourism trade. As a nonprofit, the museum doesn’t have access to all the capital that they need for the repairs.”

Phase 2 of the façade program will encompass projects totaling just over $3 million, with the gap request making up 44 percent and the city committing $367,000.

“It tends to be a dollar-for-dollar match,” Konyha said about the grant “The idea is that if there is an improvement to a façade that is $10,000, and if the façade program picks up half, that provides a heck of an incentive for the business owner to accomplish a big expense for only half the cost.”

One additional issue that Sullivan and Konyha hope can be solved through the façade grant is the issue of roofs. Many buildings downtown are in dire need of roof repairs, but roofs do not qualify for façade grants.

“If you don’t have a good roof, I don’t care how good your windows and doors and bricks are, if your roof leaks, you have a problem,” said Konyha. “I believe we have worked out an arrangement for this program that we can actually have the building owner do the roof repair and count that as the match for the façade, which is a big thing, because now we can get two things done.”

In addition to boosting the local economy, the façade program is one way that community members are working together to preserve the history of Wabash and propel it into the future.

“This projects not only changes the ascetics of these buildings, but they change the expectations of Wabash,” said Sullivan. “It’s very easy to see the value of a program like this, especially when you look at what the downtown looked like 5 years ago to what it is today.”

“I think the façade program is one of the most important pieces of the whole project, because it will impact a number of buildings, it will add value to the town’s space, and it will encourage additional façade work throughout the town,” said Konyha.

The first round of façade improvements are scheduled to start next spring, with the final projects being completed in the fall of 2017. Beyond Phase 2, Sullivan hopes to continue the façade grant program through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, which administered the grant for Phase 1.

“I’ve had a lot of people say to me, you know, there’s been so many changes, but it’s that physical appearance that really sets the tone, and with the façade program and what we’ve got coming with Stellar, it’s going to be great,” said Mayor Vanlandingham. “It’s that first initial image that you see, and that’s what stays with you.