Some Czech Village and New Bohemia stores could be getting a face-lift

Some storefronts in Czech Village and New Bohemia might be getting face-lifts.

Two architects recently sketched proposed facade renovations for six buildings in the two areas, newly combined this year as the Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street Iowa Urban Neighborhood District.

The architects' work is one of the benefits of the Main Street designation, said Robyn Rieckhoff, director of the district. Owners of the buildings are not obligated to renovate their storefronts, but several are interested, she said.

Some of the work has already started at the former Salvation Army building, 45 16th Ave. SW, where masonry is being repainted to highlight brick and stone accents.

Across the river, Gary Spicher said, owner Betty Borgenson will be deciding whether to change the look of Borgenson's Sales, 213 14th Ave SE,. which once housed the Ideal Theater. Remnants from the building's previous incarnation can be seen in outdoor tiling with the theater's name and a former ticket window that Spicher said was found when drywall was torn out.

A change in the paint scheme is the major difference in the suggested Borgenson facade, but dramatic transformations are proposed for other structures.

In New Bohemia, the former South Side Tavern, 1326 Second St. SE, and two now-dilapidated adjoining buildings are shown as they might have looked nearer to the early 1900s, when William Hach opened a saloon and beer bottling company at the site.

The sketch for the white Matyk Building, 1029 Third St. SE, shows a storefront restored to the dark brick under its current white paint, with green accents and touches of natural limestone.

Across the street, the Suchy Building, 1006 Third St. SE, also was given a sketched makeover.

Deb Anson, owner of the Red Frog, 88 16th Ave. SW, was shown a design with larger windows, a sloping entrance slab and different awning.

Anson, who purchased the restaurant/bar after last year's flood, said she would make the changes if money was available.

“Maybe we'll just do the awning and go from there,” she said.

Help could come in the form of state and federal tax credits that reimburse 51 percent of rehabilitation expenses for buildings that meet historic design standards. That includes not just facade changes, but flood renovations for buildings hard-hit in June 2008.

Those properties could also qualify for historic property tax abatements that freeze property tax at pre-rehabilitation value for four years and adjusts up 25 percent per year for the following four years.

Jennifer Pratt, the city's development coordinator, said Cedar Rapids could also reinstitute a storefront improvement cost-sharing program that began in 2001. Eleven projects were funded with costs split between business owners and the city before the program was suspended after the flood.