Loans will aid downtown property beautification

By David Little, West Central Tribune  davidl@wctrib.com

WILLMAR — A financing source will soon be made available to downtown property owners who want to fix up their buildings.

The Willmar Housing and Redevelopment Authority, in cooperation with the Willmar Design Center, will make a revolving loan fund of $522,676 available to property and business owners who need money to upgrade their building facades or to cover operating and equipment expenses.

A 40 percent financial match is required, which would result in a $871,127 project.

A report on plans to make the money available was presented Thursday noon to the Willmar Design Center Board by board members Dick Arne and Al Juhnke. Both are members of the Design Center’s Property Development and Historic Buildings Committee.

Juhnke said the money will be available to property owners who probably would not be able to obtain this financing on their own. The repayment period would vary from 3 to 10 years, depending on how the financing is used, Juhnke said.

“Hopefully, our goal downtown is to see that a majority of that money — if we can — is used on exterior facades or exterior improvements to buildings because as we work with the Willmar Design Center and the whole downtown environment, we want to dress it up, if you will, downtown and make sure that we have a handsome look to our streets and our landscapes down here,’’ Juhnke said.

“Part of this is beautification of downtown,’’ Arne said. “The more attractive we make downtown the more appealing it’s going to be to attract not only housing but also commercial enterprises. We need more entrepreneurs down here. That’s our goal.’’

Arne and Juhnke said the committee has been working with the HRA on the financing proposal for several months. The Design Center will make information available about the program; the HRA will approve the loans; and Heritage Bank will be the fiscal agent.

Juhnke said the loan program is also tied somewhat to preparation of the new comprehensive land use plan by the Willmar Planning Commission.

“What we’re looking for is the new boundaries of downtown, which are being developed right now in that master plan,’’ Juhnke said. “Once that’s there, that boundary then becomes our priority area.’’

If the money is not used downtown, it will probably be offered to other areas of the city, said Juhnke.

“But we’re hopeful we can use all those funds downtown and leverage up to $800,000 or $900,000 for use in downtown development, property beautification and projects,’’ Juhnke said.

An official announcement about the availability of the finding will be made later, according to board members. Information packets will be available within a month or two.