Giving downtown a facelift

Downtown merchants last year maxed out a Waynesboro fund that offsets building renovation costs, but money is left untapped some years, so officials are ramping up promotion of the program.

The grant program matches business owner investments of up to $5,000 for simple facade improvements such as new signage, awnings and paint, and more extensive reconstruction efforts such as swapping out bricks or restoring historic stonework.

The program launched in a big way with the renovation of a law firm on North Wayne Avenue in 2000. Crews removed a late 1960s brick wall to reveal storefront windows from the 1920s beneath. The Wayne Theatre, Heritage Museum and Shenandoah Valley Art Center have taken the bite out of major costs by getting the reimbursements as well.

Other projects came in at less than $500.

In the program’s 10 years, business owners have recouped more than $120,000 on improvements to 27 facades, by the city’s account.

“Over the years, we did feel we didn’t have enough publicity,” said Constance Paradiso, design committee chairwoman for Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc.

WDDI reviews facade design proposals. The Economic Development Authority authorizes reimbursements because the grants are tied into the city’s enterprise zone, which centers on the downtown but extends to other properties.

Sensing a lack of awareness, and encouraged by Virginia Main Street officials to play up the facade grant program, WDDI and the city this year printed new brochures explaining it.

“When someone walks through the door … bam, there it is,” Paradiso said of the brochure.

She said the design committee might clarify the grant application to better explain the process, which requires owners to submit a rendering of the anticipated renovation. The committee also wants to see paint samples and a cost breakdown.

Expertise and energy

The owners of Under the Roof, a downtown furniture store, didn’t know about the program until WDDI Executive Director Kimberly Watters suggested it.

“It was really an easy process,” co-owner Deborah Henshaw said. “I would recommend it to any business owner. Finding professional architectural help can be very expensive.”

Through WDDI and Virginia Main Street, interested merchants can request free architectural renderings from Frazier Associates, a Staunton-based firm known across Virginia for historical renovations.

The firm has completed about 1,700 drawings for businesses across Virginia.

“What the architect drew was … exactly what we asked her to draw and within the budget constraints,” Henshaw said.

Appreciative of the drawing, Henshaw was inspired to go further. She might increase her renovation budget when she applies for the facade grant.

“We’d like a little more oomph,” she said.

Assistant City Manager Jim Shaw said the program encourages investment in older buildings and helps close the cost gap on projects.

“Oftentimes one investment energizes the next,” he said. “It’s kind of a curb appeal thing. Whatever you do should be of quality.”

The city allots $10,000 each year for project reimbursements. Shaw said the EDA can drum up more money if needed. Projects have not been denied for lack of funding.

Some have been denied based on design.

The design process has turned off some merchants, Shaw and Paradiso said. Other longtime property owners know of the program but probably won’t take advantage of it, they said.

Virginia Main Street Program Manager Jeff Sadler said historical renovations have the most impact.

“But the truth is, a can of paint is better than nothing,” he said.

Facades are just one part of turning a downtown into a place where people want to live and shop, he said, and aesthetic improvements tend to be ongoing.

“Usually, it happens a couple buildings at a time,” Sadler said. “What we have seen: people get excited by seeing the other work.”

Creating cohesion

Waynesboro’s downtown includes newer buildings than in some historic downtowns, Sadler said. A review of a National Register of Historic Places report shows downtown Waynesboro buildings constructed as far back as 1806, but also in the 1930s through 1960s. Buildings reflect wide-ranging styles.

“Some buildings in our downtowns are historic and some are not so historic,” said Frazier Associates designer Deneen Brannock. “We want the buildings to complement each other and create a cohesive downtown.”

The firm uses historical photos and on-site visits and follows national guidelines for restorations, Brannock said.

“People can be pleasantly surprised,” she said. “[When] they think their building doesn’t have much architectural character or historical significance.”

The Time Building, built around 1925 at 129 N. Wayne Ave., was first occupied by a drug store and then by law firm beginning in 1931.

The building’s style, Spanish Colonial Revival, included particular roof tiles, arches, keystones and windows.

Many details became obscured, when in the late 1960s, a brick wall was erected that blocked most of the facade and limited light. A dropped ceiling disguised what had been pressed tin inside.

In 1999, senior partner Ron Denney led the charge to restore the building. The firm consulted a photo from about 1910 and reached out to Frazier Associates. The law firm fronted the money and later reaped reimbursements from historic tax credits and the facade program, Denney said.

“It’s a worthwhile program,” Denney said. “It’s almost foolish not to at least consider it.”

Paradiso agreed. When she invested $12,000 in “badly needed” signage and wall coverings at Pinky’s Car Wash, she knew the project would qualify. She also restored her building at 329 W. Main St., home of Hyman’s Department store from the 1930s through the 1950s.

“We encourage that you respect the building,” Brannock said.

The benefits of historical buildings is that they often are more in scale with pedestrians, she said.

“They’re welcoming. They have windows that look out onto the street,” she said.