Marengo businesses receive city grants

MARENGO — The City of Marengo awarded grants to two local businesses last month for improvement of their building exteriors.

The city’s Commercial Exterior Grant and Sign Grant Programs give up to $10,000 annually to help property owners enhance building appearances and create an inviting downtown district that will encourage people to spend time in Marengo.

During its April 23 meeting, the Marengo City Council approved commercial exterior grants for two downtown businesses.

Switzer and Wilson Counseling Service was awarded a commercial exterior grant of $5,266 for a $15,800 project at 1024 Court Ave.

The project will restore and update the storefront, according to the grant application from Kelli Switzer.

The work will include scraping and power washing the brick surfaces to prepare for refinishing. Tuckpointing will be completed on the lower brick areas, and the upper mortar joints will be repaired.

The south-end lintel cornice cap will be repaired, and all existing painted brick surfaces will be primed and painted dark gray and black.

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The outdated entrance door will be removed and replaced with a new aluminum storefront door featuring sidelights and a transom.

The updates will improve the building’s structural integrity and give it a modern, polished appearance, Switzer said in the grant application.

Iowa County Abstract, at 1048 Court Ave., will receive $4,162 for a $12,487 project. Iowa Abstract will remove all loose paint and repaint the entire building with rubberized paint.

The color scheme will stay the same on the front of the building, gray with white trim. The rest of the building will be gray.

The project will begin this spring and should be completed by last summer or early fall, the application says.

“We only pay 1/3 of the project cost,” said City Administrator Karla Marck. Businesses have 12 months from the time they submitted the application to finish the project and produce paid receipts for reimbursement.

The commercial exterior grant won’t cover such improvements as furnishing, landscaping or roof improvements, said Marck. It’s intended to eliminate deterioration of buildings, restore and preserve properties, eliminate vacancies and act as a catalyst for larger improvements and development.

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The sign grant is awarded for installation of business signage that is attached to a building and lighting associated with the signage. Signs not attached to buildings are ineligible.

Businesses can apply for the sign grant only once. Individual sign grants cannot exceed $2,500.

Businesses can apply for the commercial exterior grant once every fiscal year. Money is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications are accepted as long as money is available.

Both grants are available for buildings in the downtown area, a subset of the central business district, zoned C-1.

The city earmarks $10,000 a year in the general fund for the grants, and unused money carries over to the next fiscal year. “Right now we have $25,000 in our account,” Marck told the city council in April.

For more information about Marengo’s Business Incentive Grants, call 319-642-3232 or email cityofmarengo@marengoiowa.com.