Community center seeks city funding
If you go
What: Community Development Authority meeting to discuss proposed community center.
When: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Janesville City Hall, 18 N. Jackson St.
Photo
A group of Janesville residents proposes the city use $450,000 in community development block grant money to turn the former Case Feed building at the corner of Rockport Road and Center Avenue into a new community center.
JANESVILLE — Supporters of a proposed community center could have a long road ahead of them.
Proponents say a community center at the vacant Case Feed building could preserve history and revitalize the Fourth Ward and Look West neighborhoods—if the city kicks in $450,000 for restoration.
But a city official said the money is not available right now, and at least one city council member isn't sure there's enough support to justify the expense.
One leader of the effort is K. Andreah Briarmoon, a controversial city council candidate and the real estate agent in charge of listing the Case Feed building on the corner of Rockport Road and Center Avenue.
"I'm thrilled to be the real estate agent involved in a project that does so many things at once," Briarmoon said. "Preserving a historic landmark, restoring it, and on top of that, it will even provide space for service groups that will directly benefit the neighborhood."
Briarmoon and other supporters will present their case Wednesday to the Community Development Authority.
The Case Feed building was the first commercial building in Janesville and has been vacant since at least 2002. The city sent a "raze or repair order" to the owner, North American Group of Companies, in March 2008 because it was concerned about long-term structural damage.
The property is assessed at $96,000, the proposal says.
A Janesville investor, Gideon Ngobi, said he's willing to buy the property if the city pays to restore it. Gilbank Construction estimated restoration would cost $412,000, not including architectural or engineering fees.
Ngobi wants to put businesses in the building's storefront and a housing unit above. In the warehouse part of the building, he proposes a center offering space to nonprofit organizations rent-free for one year.
Proposals for the community center include a learning center, a teen center and headquarters for Hand-in-Hand, a Fourth Ward revitalization group.
Supporters are asking for a $450,000 Community Development Block Grant.
The project would be a worthwhile addition to the neighborhood, but the city already has allocated its 2009 block grant funds, said Jennifer Petruzzello, neighborhood services director. The city expects to receive about $535,000 from the federal budget and another $145,000 from the federal stimulus for the program.
It allocated the $535,000 through its normal budget process, Petruzzello said. The groups receiving the largest amounts are ECHO and HealthNet at $32,500 each, though the city did set aside $57,000 for neighborhood slum and blight activities, she wrote in a memo to the Community Development Authority.
Anything more would require a substantial budget amendment and public hearing, she wrote.
The city might be able to use the $145,000 in stimulus funds on the project, but it's not sure about the restrictions on that money, Petruzzello said.
"We haven't gotten guidance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development on how we can use those funds yet," she said.
The city has approved major projects in past years, often spread out over several years, she said. For example, it approved about $300,000 between 2008 and 2009 to acquire and demolish a building on Court Street and Parker Drive.
She recommends the group come back with a new proposal in the summer for the 2010 budget year with a "considerably reduced funding request," she wrote. She encouraged Ngobi to seek non-city funding.
Council President Amy Loasching said she's not sure there's enough support to justify the project.
"I would really question whether or not that is something that a large group of people would really utilize," she said.
"I've heard from a handful of people that say that they want this," Loasching said. "If we're doing something with city money to please five people, I'm not in support of that."
