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Downtown Marine City gets a face lift

By Jeri Packer

The Voice (Michigan)

December 17, 2008

The face of downtown Marine City [Michigan] will look just a little more inviting by the spring of 2009, due to a federal grant secured by the city.

The city has received preliminary approval on its application for a Downtown Facade Improvement Initiative grant and is turning in the final paperwork this month.

"We're fired up and ready to go," City Manager John Gabor said. "Four sites have been approved and we are just finishing the application process, putting it in the right format for approval."

Officials are developing the final specifications and architectural drawings necessary to begin the bidding process for a building contractor. The same contractor will renovate all four buildings, Gabor said.

Anita's Place, Riviera Restaurant, Lighthouse Books and Brew, and the now-vacant 102 Broadway Street building at the corner of Broadway and Water Streets will be receiving the facelifts, probably by early spring, Gabor said. The facade program, managed by the State, is a 50/50 matching grant for qualifying portions of building facade improvements.

Gabor said the entrepreneurs came forward just as city officials were wondering how to get the program started. The grant requires each community to have no less than two and not more than four or five applicants at one time.

"The right people wanted to spend some money - it's not a total freebie - but if you're willing, you can save 40-50 percent of the costs to upgrade," he said.

The Marine City Tax Increment Finance Authority is kicking in $7,500 toward the construction costs and $2,000 toward the architectural drawing costs for each property. The building owners are responsible for the rest of their match.

"We have a unique situation here, having a traditional downtown on the water," Gabor said. "This is the kind of opportunity this funding looks for."

Gabor believes the program will catch on quickly - once other businesses see the results of the facade improvements.

"We're going to help with four facades and two to three apartments in this round," he said. "People are going to have an opportunity to see them at a special open house. People will start lining up for the program."

Two or three other building owners, located near the current renovation sites, have inquired about the program. Gabor said this increases the applicant's chances they will be approved for the funding.

"The people who manage these funds like that," he said. "They like to see whole blocks done."

Marine City may also be taking advantage of another federal grant program, the Rental Rehab Program, at 102 Broadway Street and Anita's Place. Funding for the program works similar to the facade grant funds, but is handled on the county level, Gabor said.

The program matches up to $50,000, with an extra $10,000 for lead abatement, if needed.

Marine City Chamber of Commerce President Judy White said the individual improvements made at each business in town would help maximize the look of the city as a whole.

"The aesthetic changes will be dramatic," she said. "It will make a huge difference in how the city looks, and it will bring the buildings back closer to the original look, maintaining the historic feel of the community."

Gary and Friday Oberliesen own a coffee shop in downtown Marine City, situated across from River Park on Water Street.

Although the building is one of the four chosen for the facade grant, it is already undergoing renovations.

The building is now one story but originally had a second floor, Gary Oberliesen said. The second floor was destroyed when the Dupont Hotel, one building over from Oberliesen's place, caught fire and burned. The hotel and adjacent business were burned to the ground, but Oberliesen's building survived - minus the top floor.

He is currently re-building the upper floor. He is hoping the grant will cover renovations on the front of the building all the way up to the second floor.

"I'm just restoring what used to be there," he said.

The Oberliesens always planned on building the upper loft when they purchased the building, but they had other plans for the ground floor. They initially intended on renting it out, but instead, opened up Lighthouse Books and Brew. The couple still plans on taking up residence in the upper loft when they both retire.

"It's unique to live in a loft in a downtown area," he said. "It's the coming thing."

Many residents in the community have submitted old photos of the building for the shop owners to display.

The facade plans approved by the city will not look exactly like the original building, but will fit in nicely with the look of the town as a whole, he said. The existing windows will be replaced with new ones with a "French-effect look," he said, and the top story will have a balcony.

The facade will have inlaid wood panels with corbels (decorative trim) bordering the top of the building, he said, looking similar to The Raven Restaurant in Port Huron.

The program has strict guidelines regarding the building design.

"We were not allowed to use any plaster or aluminum," he said. "We were allowed to use brick or wood, but no modern technology. It had to look old. We re-drew the design using all wood."

Oberliesen said he is considering temporarily using the loft for lodging for out-of-town visitors during the Marine City Arts and Music Festival in the summer of 2009.

"In the meantime, until I make my final move here, I'll use it as a cottage," he said.

Contact Jeri Packer at (586) 716-8100, ext. 302 or jeri.packer@voicenews.com.