Bodywrx obtains grant for new storefront

    The downtown area of Washington will see even more remodeling this spring thanks to a grant that was recently awarded to Bodywrx Fitness to restore its original storefront. Bodywrx received $20,500 in the form of a HUD Challenge Grant from the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

    The Bodywrx rehabilitation project was one of 14 projects that received money from the HUD Challenge Grant program. All of the grant applications were administered by the Iowa Downtown Resource Center and Main Street Iowa. The money comes in the form of a matching grant, which means that Bodywrx must put at least $20,500 of its own money into the project.

    Teri Hartzler, who owns the building with her husband Drew, said they plan to remove the metal siding that now covers the top half of the building in order to expose the original brick surface. She said the brick surface will be tuck-pointed and have other repairs done to it to make it look like it did when the building was erected.

    Another large part of the remodeling will be the replacement of the exterior windows on the second floor. The windows have been boarded up with concrete, which will need to be removed. Hartzler said that, in order to obtain the grant, she and her husband must follow the regulations for rehabilitating historic buildings laid down by the Secretary of the Interior. That means that when they replace the windows on the second floor, they will have to use windows that conform to the style of the building?s original windows.

    The first floor of the building is also getting a face-lift, said Hartzler. She said they have plans to replace the metallic awning with a fabric awning, and also replace the door and windows that face the sidewalk. She said the new windows will be more energy efficient than the current ones.

    At the present time, the extent of the remodeling to the second floor will be to the exterior portion of the building. However, Hartzler said they plan to put in an exterior door on the first floor that will lead directly to the second floor, something the building now lacks. She said they may later decide to turn the second floor into residential dwellings, but noted that that would not be part of this particular phase.

For the full article, see our Jan. 25 print edition.