Downtown building approved for Main Street incentive grant

A company which owns a downtown Gonzales building got an early Christmas gift in the form of approval for a Gonzales Main Street Business Incentive Grant of $52,000 during the December Main Street board meeting.

The next step for St. George Investments LLC will be getting approval from the Gonzales Economic Development Corporation and then entering into a performance agreement under Chapter 501 of the Texas Local Government Code before any funds will be transferred.

St. George Investments LLC, which is owned by Noel Reese, owns the building at 417 Saint George Street, which was built in 1889 and formerly was the site of the J.C. Penney in Gonzales — remnants of a J.C. Penney sign can still be seen above the canopy. Today, it is home to the Reese & Escobar law firm as well as Brown Hearing Center, All Freedom Bail Bonds, Grackle Psychiatry and Lexington Real Estate, among others.

Main Street Director Tiffany Hutchison-Padilla said St. George Investments is expected to invest between $66,000 and $76,000 on renovations to the building, which “requires extensive maintenance and upkeep to retain its historic qualities and charm.”

“Repairs and renovations on the building will enhance the overall structure and appearance, adding to the appeal to tenants of the building,” said Hutchison-Padilla. “His business plan is to rent it to capacity with tenants. It is office space. It doesn't bring in any sales tax, but this building needs some love.”

The plan includes cleaning the brick exterior, tuckpointing on the masonry to make the brick more stable and more weatherproof, powerwashing, and then replacing not only the second story windows and first floor doors, but also putting in new prism-glass transom windows above the metal canopy to restore how the building formerly looked.

Hutchison-Padilla said the company submitted a letter of intent and a full application, which included a report from the Texas Historical Commission from 2012 advising what can and cannot be done to retain the building’s historic integrity.

“They purchased this property and they inquired with the Texas Historical Commission as to whether or not they could put a balcony on it,” Hutchison-Padilla said. “The THC was pretty clear that would detract from the historic nature of this particular building. They found historic photos and they cited those photos.”
The recommendation also included, if possible, to recreate the roofline that existed previously because “you can see that at some point that roofline was filled in because of drainage,” Hutchison-Padilla said.

“They would have liked to see that roofline come back, but that’s not possible, so the owner of the building is willing to paint it so that it is more in line with the way the brick looks.”

The Gonzales Main Street Revitalization Incentive Program’s mission is “to improve the image, inspire lifelong preservation and revitalization of our historic community, and enhance the economic sustainability of the Gonzales Main Street District.” The program is governed by economic development law and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

To be eligible for a Main Street grant, a business must be located within the Gonzales Main Street boundaries and must be a project which will “stimulate Historic Preservation, Business Retention and Expansion, and the Revitalization of our Historic Community.”

The grant is set up to reimburse property owners after work is completed. Categories include business retention and enhancement incentive, which could include bringing a property up to code or performing significant interior or exterior capital improvements, including ADA compliance, asbestos removal, fire suppression, HVAC, electrical, plumbing and other repairs.

Facade and exterior improvements are aimed towards historic preservation and can include signage, paint, lighting, masonry, awnings, restoring transom windows, landscaping and other improvements.

The maximum grant award is $52,000 reimbursement per building property address and projects will not receive funding greater than 90/10 reimbursement. There is a maximum of one award per property and it cannot be combined with any other grants and/or incentives (Main Street and Economic Development Corporation) or within 36 months of any prior GEDC-related funding.