OEDC gives first look at Main St. facade rehab

The Olney Economic Development Corporation released the first images of the Main Street rehabilitation program from Grossman Design Build last week and moved forward with plans to repair the old courthouse on Grand Avenue.

OEDC executive director Tom Parker said the designs for the 200 block of Main Street will require some adjustments but represent a starting point for getting input on the project to bring more businesses and more visitors to Olney.

The drawings show suggestions for refreshing the facades of the Olney Heritage Museum, the vacant former Masonic Lodge next door and Olney Hardware. Suggestions for planters outside the building may not be workable because of state highway department regulations, he said.

The OEDC also made major progress on rehabilitating the 100-year-old Young County sub-courthouse.

The City Council on Aug. 12 voted to transfer ownership and the County’s lease of the Young County sub-courthouse on Grand Avenue to the OEDC. The City has been wrestling for more than a year with how to afford to repair the crumbling facade of the old building that once served as Olney City Hall, and to update the aging windows and air conditioning units.

The Public Works Department has cordoned off the front of the building to prevent plaster material from falling on pedestrians while it looks for funding and someone to do the work. The OEDC proposed a plan to make more extensive renovations to the building as part of the Main Street Facade program, Mr. Parker said the OEDC was preparing to test the building for asbestos and lead, and was awaiting estimates on the windows, HVAC and to put scaffolding on the building so that the front entrance could be used again.

The OEDC has budgeted $440,000 for the repairs and upgrades, but will apply for a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan to complete the work, he said. The work will take approximately three to five years to complete, and the OEDC plans to use funds from the new County lease to service it, he said.

The County is happy to support the rehabilitation with higher rent because finding a new building to house County services would be more expensive, he said. The OEDC and the County agreed on a new lease that will increase the annual rent to $25,000 from $11,000, he said.

The term of the lease will conform with the term of the USDA loan, he said.

The repairs are expected to begin by the end of the year, he said.