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Santoros double down on Main Street investment
FIXER-UPPERS
Fixer-Uppers is a three-part series highlighting ambitious building preservation efforts happening around Washington. This article is the second installment.
WASHINGTON — A fire at 217 West Main Street back in mid-February meant many different things to many different people.
It was the second major blaze in the neighborhood in twice as many months, following an incident in November at the Greiner Building, two blocks east. It was a blemish on the city’s square, across the street from the Washington County Courthouse, on the same day that supervisors met in-person with out-of-town candidates for the county attorney position. It was a logistically complicated fire to fight, with the flames happening on the highest of three stories, which first responders needed to reach under a haze of smoke, while temperatures outside froze water on the pavement at a bitter 3 degrees.
It also happened 16 days after Isabella and Ed Santoro bought the property right next door, where they planned to complete some straightforward repairs before marketing its handful of apartments and ground-floor commercial space.
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Repercussions from the firefight paid no mind to the property line, however. Damage was extensive throughout the building, both from water soaking the inside walls and from a “smoke explosion” that stained every surface of south-facing apartment rooms, leaving sharp outlines of items left on floors and countertops.
“All that separated us from 217 West Main was just a regular, interior wall,” Isabella Santoro said. “There were some holes in walls that needed to be patched, and maybe some updates to appliances that were needed, but nothing we couldn’t handle … but then the fire happened, and it’s become completely, totally ruined.”
By the end of May, the couple added the rest of the building to their portfolio. Santoro said they were interested in doing so eventually anyway, but that fallout from the fire moved the timeline up dramatically.
“(The previous owner) was not going to pursue fixing the damages caused by the fire,” she said. “She just really wanted to let somebody else do that. So we decided to buy her portion, where the fire actually happened, so we could fix the whole thing up in one go.”
The project will not be cheap.
Much of the building’s roof needs replacement. Fire damage opened up holes on the exterior walls, exposing much of the third floor to the elements (and animals) outside. Smoke and water damage have necessitated numerous replacements interior walls and flooring, even on lower stories.
All said, Santoro said the total price estimate came in around $900,000 as she and her husband look to make the building livable again.
Some funding is already secured for that goal. The city of Washington has approved some tax abatements for the property, and pushed a $50,000 Downtown Investment Grant to the project, with approval from Main Street Washington. Public records show an Emergency Community Catalyst & Remediation Grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority has also been approved for $100,000 to help with the work.
Despite these boosts, financing for the building improvements is still a big swing. Santoro admitted as much herself, but said she believed the outcome would be worth it, even if the investment took a long time to generate returns.
“We sound totally, insane, and we are, but I think it stems from a desire to see the downtown flourish,” she said. “My biggest concern was that it would eventually get torn down, and you just can’t build a three-story brick building that looks like that anymore. It’s just not financially feasible … even though it may make little logical or financial sense, we think it has a lot of potential.”
Much of the work will be done “in-house,” by the Santoros, who have spent the last several years fixing up the former Winga’s Cafe building, soon to open under their ownership and the new name, Northside Diner. The do-it-yourself approach will mean lower costs than the $900,000 number, which is based on contractor estimates.
Even so, success is not guaranteed. Santoro said she recognized that, but hoped the array of improvements planned over the next several months and years would boost both the structure’s odds of survival, and the downtown area’s overall vitality.
“If we just can’t make it happen, then at least it’s in a better position for somebody to take over and renovate it,” she said. “It would set them up a lot better than the way the building is right now … I have a feeling I’m not alone in seeing that potential.”
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
