Commission OKs $30,000 for renovation

A downtown business owner will get some help with renovating her building.

Portland Redevelopment Commission on Friday approved a $30,000 grant to LeeAnn Miller’s Reclaiming Design to help cover the cost of renovations to her building at 206 N. Meridian St.

The grant will be passed to Miller through Portland Economic Development Corporation.

“It’s exciting news, for sure,” said Miller. “It definitely helps the timeline, helps speed things up.”

Miller had visited the redevelopment commission’s April 28 meeting with a request of $50,000 for the project. She explained then that the building she bought via a tax sale had already been upgraded with a new floor and garage door, with other improvements in the works. She estimated the total project for the first floor at $215,000.

At the redevelopment commission’s request, she returned to Friday’s special meeting with multiple quotes for specific portions of the work — heating, ventilation and cooling, plumbing and electrical — that would be identified for the redevelopment commission funding.

The redevelopment commission approved $30,000 for the project.

“It’s somebody that’s trying to rehabilitate a building downtown,” said redevelopment commission president Rusty Inman after the meeting. “We’re trying to get more people to do that. The best way to get them to do it is to show them that there’s money available.”

Phil Laux Plumbing and Heating of Portland will handle the HVAC and plumbing with, with Liberty Wayne Electric of Coldwater doing the electrical work. (The electrical work is expected to begin soon.) In addition to those aspects, ceiling and drywall work and painting are planned for the building.

The project has also received a commitment of $20,000 from the city’s facade improvement program.

Miller said she hopes to have the new home for her business open to the public in spring 2024. Plans call for it to become the new retail and showroom for her interior design firm, which is currently heavily focused on kitchen and bathroom projects.

The redevelopment commission also approved spending about $9,000 for drainage and sandblasting for Brick Alley. (Nature’s Green of Fort Recovery will handle the work.)

Inman explained following the meeting that gutters from buildings on the north side of the alley — it runs west from Meridian Street on the north side of Community Resource Center — have been flushing sand between the bricks away. As a result, regular sandblasting and replacement of sand has been required more frequently than expected.

To solve that problem, the gutters will be tied into a single pipe that will direct the water to a nearby catch basin.

The commission also held an executive session following its special meeting.