PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend Main Street Program’s Housing and Urban Development low-interest revolving loan fund is helping owners of downtown historic properties – such as Duncan Kellogg — finance improvements that correct potential public safety hazards or address earthquake concerns.
Kellogg recently had the “Little” Kuhn Building at 926 Water St. seismically retrofitted with steel beams to support the old brick building in the event of a quake.
He had the work financed through a $40,000 HUD loan at 5 percent annual interest, a program offered through Main Street since 1988.
“They stand a much better chance of survival,” Kellogg said of the more than 3,000-square-foot building and its commercial and apartment tenants.
The front of the building has been painted with new colors, and the rear of the building has a new cedar staircase to the second floor, the brick exterior of which has steel beam supports.
Interior remodeling
Besides about 2,300 square feet of commercial space at street level, the building’s interior upstairs has been remodeled for four apartments between 500 and 700 square feet each.
The program has financed projects for owners of more than 20 historic buildings downtown and uptown who needed to make safety improvements such as seismic retrofitting, Main Street Director Mari Mullen said.
The fall loan application deadline is Friday.
The revolving fund has loaned out more than $340,000 in support of restoration and renovation projects in Port Townsend’s historic districts.
Repairs, improvements
With the funds, building owners have repaired roofs, fixed staircases, fixing mortar joints on brick facades, installed windows and improved the safety of their buildings.
Loan amounts may be between $1,000 to $40,000 with a 10-year term.
Interest charges are set at 5 percent, but with early repayment interest could be as low as zero percent.
Funds are disbursed by the city of Port Townsend upon completion of the projects — and after verification to the city’s satisfaction of the amount expended.
Applicants must fill out a brief form, include a photo of the building, the project’s total budget, a work schedule and funding amount requested.
Applications can be downloaded from Main Street’s Web site at www.ptmainstreet.org, and are also available at the Main Street office in the Mount Baker Block Building, 211 Taylor St., second floor, Suite No. 1.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com
