By Natalie Anderson
natalie.anderson@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — The city of Salisbury is preparing to accept applications for projects aimed at revitalizing downtown properties with the aid of the Paul Bruhn Revitalization Grant received in October.

During a city council meeting on Tuesday, Salisbury Senior Planner Catherine Garner presented a selection committee and selection criteria for the projects. The grant, which amounts to $543,185 ($500,000 of which is for rehabilitations), was received from National Park Service and is funded through the Historic Preservation Fund, which collects revenue from off-shore drilling licenses. The grant is competitive among rural communities with less than 50,000 population. Salisbury was one of eight entities selected for the grant, and the only municipality, Garner said.

The goal of the grant is to fund substantial structural and façade rehabilitation of commercial properties in the Salisbury Historic District. Substantial rehabilitation includes a minimum of $100,000 investment in the property, and the city will provide a 25% match to awarded projects.

Additionally, Garner said Salisbury-Rowan Utilities will contribute some money to the projects for fire line and fire loop extensions. Eligible applicants include public entities that are not federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, private individuals and for-profit businesses.

“We didn’t want the grant itself to be the primary funds used to rehabilitate these buildings,” Garner said. “We saw this as a way of helping sort of close the gap or provide some additional incentives to make projects happen. But we didn’t want to be the main funding source for projects themselves.”

The focus of the projects are geared toward roof repairs and replacements, structural repairs, window and door restorations and fire safety improvements.

Garner said staff members are in the process of notifying locals about this grant opportunity. The deadline to apply is Dec. 31, with approvals on a rolling basis. The second round of applications would be due by Feb. 15, with projects selected by next spring. Construction on the projects would begin in late summer next year to allow for permitting, tax credit review time and federal review.

The application process consists of two parts, with the first outlining project goals and eligibility criteria and the second involving detailed information on the project.

The selection committee will use a points system to make final decisions for the projects. Some of those categories include proximity to Bell Tower Green Park, the number of total units being rehabilitated, the age of the building, fire line addition or construction, number of architectural elements being preserved and the creation of affordable housing.

Some of the highest-scoring buildings include those close to the Bell Tower Green Park, commercial units, older buildings, whether the area needs an addition to or construction of a fire loop and units of housing rented to a household earning 80% or less of the area median income for an 8-year period.

“We know that affordable housing is important all over, but especially lacking in the downtown,” Garner said. “So that’s why we’re adding that as part of an incentive to the grant by weighting it so heavily.”

Additionally, more points can be awarded to projects that include contracts with minority-owned or women-owned businesses as well as the ability to provide more private funding to balance the cost-matching from the city.

Council member Brian Miller asked why commercial units would be weighted more than residential units because the city desires residential growth downtown. But Mayor Karen Alexander said one point per residential unit is fitting because those are generally smaller than commercial units. Additionally, further commercial development attracts more residential units, she added.

“We have close to a couple dozen vacancies downtown and I think, given that, if we encourage some commercial development, that will attract residential development,” council member David Post added. “That becomes a lot more attractive if we’ve got places for people who live downtown to go.”

Additionally, Garner said the proximity to the park criteria is included due to the expected significant impact to the area for the park to “raise all downtown.”

The selection committee will include the chairs of the Historic Preservation Commission, Community Appearance Commission, Downtown Salisbury Inc. Economic Vitality Committee and the Downtown Salisbury Inc. Design Committee. Other members of the selection committee will include Salisbury Chief Financial Officer Shannon Moore and Salisbury-Rowan Utilities Director Jim Behmer.

Salisbury Mayor Pro Tem Al Heggins asked Garner about the demographic makeup of the selection committee. Garner said two of the chairs on the committee were white women, while the rest were white men.

Garner added that they were selected because they all serve boards and commissions involved with downtown revitalization and historic preservation.

“I understand the logic that is being used here in creating the committee,” Heggins said. “But I think that, sometimes, when we look at what the makeup actually turns into, we may have to kind of step back and maybe rethink and readjust if that’s a possibility. And maybe some of these chairs will be willing to appoint someone from their body that is African-American or Latino or Asian so that it’s reflective of our downtown community.”

Ultimately, the council passed the selection criteria outlined, with a stipulation from Heggins that staff look into a way to diversify the selection committee. Garner said staff would be willing to have that conversation with the National Parks Service, which must “sign off” on everything

The National Park Service also requires any properties receiving Historic Preservation Fund money be placed in an easement, with the number of easement years based on the total federal investment.

More information on the grant can be found by visiting salisburync.gov/Government/Community-Planning-Services/Grants-and-Incentives/Paul-Bruhn-Downtown-Historic-Revitalization-Grant.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, council members received an update from Garner and Salisbury Planning Director Hannah Jacobson on the city’s Forward 2040 Steering Committee’s progress to create vision statements and future plans for community engagement. Presenters also called the effort “Salisbury’s Framework for Growth.”

Also present for the update were Steering Committee co-chairs DeeDee Wright and Sue McHugh.

The Forward 2040 program is driven by community input on how the city should look over the next 20 years. So far, 23 meetings have been held among Jacobson, Garner and the Steering Committee to survey what locals determine are the most and least important areas in need of growth or improvement. To date, about 285 different participants have provided input both in-person and via online surveys.

Jacobson said many locals had trouble ranking the various areas on the survey. So, staff asked them to rank areas in which the city has already does a good job. Some of the most important issues included economic stability, vibrant community life and environmental stability, while the ability to walk and bike was ranked least important. Presenters clarified that the ability to walk and bike aren’t necessarily areas that aren’t important to locals, but rather, needs less improvement than other areas.

Respondents also noted that the area along the North Main Street corridor is in need of reviving, along with areas along East Innes Street, part of Faith Road and the South Main corridor.

Using those results, the committee formulated a vision statement outlining 10 themes. Those themes include having a resilient and diverse economy; thriving, livable neighborhoods; equitable and inclusive communities; sustainable, clean, natural environments; a unique and dynamic downtown; a high-quality-built environment; local and regional partnerships; responsibly managed growth; a healthy and active community; and a vibrant community atmosphere.

Moving forward, the committee will conduct a second round of community engagement, with focus groups diving deeper into how the city can achieve the 10 themes outlined in the vision statements, which will ultimately lead to policy decisions.

McHugh said that staff changes and the pandemic put the progress back some. Nonetheless, she said, “we are really making a terrific headway.”

Contact reporter Natalie Anderson at 704-797-4246.