Renovating 'Upstairs Downtown'

Going around the town of Washington, Iowa, you may notice that there's some renovation going on above the street level. The Chamber of Commerce, and its Main Street Washington division, is beginning a concerted effort to work with downtown building owners to renovate unused second and third floor spaces into more usable residential and commercial space.

“We have quite a few apartments in our downtown,” says Amy Vetter, Main Street Washington's executive director, “but we have quite a few that are vacant, too.” Soon, that very well may change.

The town of Washington has been a Main Street Community since 2008, one of approximately 50 in the state of Iowa. The Main Street program is a partnership of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Main Street Communities, like Washington, can apply for challenge grants for individual properties that can then be used to help individual property owners bring new life to an older building. According to Vetter, the goal is to revitalize historic commercial districts.

This spring, local organizers have scheduled several events in a series they're calling “Let's Do It Downtown.” Earlier this month, a tour was given of the upper floors of the Triune Building, at 210/212 S. Marion Ave., for which Main Street Washington has already received a challenge grant.

The second part of the program will include public tours of ‘Upstairs Downtown' on April 13 and 14. “Many of our buildings downtown were built in the 1880s to early 1900s,” says Vetter. “Over time, people may have thought it was too much money to maintain so they just left some of the upper floors vacant,” she says. “A $10 ticket will get you into five to seven upper stories in the downtown. Some that are raw spaces, some that are in process and some that are income-producing already.”

The third part of Main Street Washington's spring program will include an education series in May with contractors, lenders and property owners to discuss how to finance future projects.

Vetter admits that it is very early in the process. “It's a conversation that we're just starting now,” she says, noting that upper story renovation can be a win-win for both property owners and the city as more finished upper spaces can bring in more cash flow for the owners and more tax revenue for the city.

Call the Washington Chamber of Commerce at (319) 653-3272 for more information.