The city of Stayton was one of three cities recently chosen to share a $1.5 million HUD grant through its HOPE VI Main Street program to help build affordable housing.
Stayton’s cut of $500,000 will facilitate the development of residential units in the Diedrich building and in the former Jensen-Krietzer department store. The renovation of these two buildings is the result of a long-term effort to revitalize the historic North Third Avenue corridor that came together when the city council adopted a plan in 2007 to revitalize the downtown area.
“This will provide an increase of more than 50 percent in the number of apartments on Third Avenue in downtown,” said Dan Fleishman, planning and development director for the city. “By my count there are only 12 second-story apartments in seven buildings on Third Avenue. One of the strategies in the 2007 Downtown Revitalization plan was to increase the number of people living in downtown to increase its economic vitality.”
The other two recipients to receive the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds are Kit Carson, Colorado and El Cerrito, California.
“Providing affordable housing and increasing economic opportunities are what Main Street funding is all about,” said HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge. “Partnering with our local communities to renovate and rebuild neighborhoods like those in Kit Carson, El Cerrito and Stayton helps to revitalize smaller cities and towns into thriving and sustainable communities.”
Fleishman said funding will provide the capital necessary for owners Gregg Olson and Linda Whitehead, to finish the second-story apartments in the Diedrich Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Olson and Whitehead have been renovating the building, concentrating on the commercial spaces on the first floor. Their façade improvements resulted in their being awarded recognition in 2018 from the Oregon Main Street Program, according to Fleishman.
The other two-story building to receive funding is also on Third Avenue and was the home of the city’s anchor department store for decades before closing following the owners’ retirement after the recession of 2008, he said.
The Jensen-Krietzer building sat vacant for several years until purchased by Jon and Teri Mesa, who renovated both the first-floor commercial space and some of the six apartments on the second floor. The ground level is now Marketplace at the Grove, a “mall” of several small retail spaces, an art gallery, and a clothing/gift shop. The Mesas have renovated four of the six apartments on the second floor but have not had the capital to complete the remaining two, according to the grant application.
Fleishman said Stayton’s HOPE VI Main Street Grant will provide financing to renovate the vacant, apartments on the second floor of these two buildings into seven affordable housing units. Of the grant amount received, $375,000 is budgeted for the Deidrich Building project with the remaining $125,000 going to the Jensen-Krietzer building project.
Cost estimates for the Deidrich Building include carpentry, plumbing, wiring, wall board, floors and kitchen and bath cabinetry and appliances, as well as architectural plan preparation and project management. The Jensen-Krietzer allocation will provide funding for plumbing, electrical, kitchen and bath cabinetry, appliances, insulation and heat pumps.
“RDS is pleased that the city and building owners were able to build on our previous Facade Improvement Grant to continue the revitalization of our Historic Downtown,” said Steve Poisson, president of Revitalize Downtown Stayton.
“I think that housing in the district will add to the overall assets that are there, and without matching funds required it makes the projects much more affordable for both building owners. They have both been working on their buildings for several years and hopefully, this will allow them to complete their projects.”
Poisson said the HUD grant fits into RDS’s overall goals.
“It is through these partnerships that major change becomes possible,” he said.
