Streator Plan Commission backs $15K facade grant for new Main Street business

A downtown Streator building is closer to becoming a small event venue after the Streator Plan Commission voted Tuesday to recommend a facade grant.

Plan Commission members recommended approval of a $15,000 facade grant for Brick & Mortar Streator LLC, which recently purchased the former K’s Secret Garden building at 215 E. Main St.

Developers Chris and Sarah Over, who have acquired four buildings in downtown Streator over the past six months, said their goal is to create a space for events such as baby and wedding showers that are affordable and unique from local bars or banquet halls.

“I originally bought the building with the intention of renting it to someone else,” Sarah Over told commission members. “Then, I’m like, ‘I really just want to keep this for myself.’

“It’s an opportunity to do something different – to pay it forward to other people.”

City Manager Jeremy Palm said the renovation will include reopening second-story windows currently covered with metal, installing a new awning along the lower facade and restoring the building’s original ceramic tile entryway.

Inside, the couple plans to maintain historical features such as tin ceilings, pan lights and original baseboards.

All plan commissioners supported the plan, with unanimous approval on the vote.

“It meets all the terms of the program,” Plan Commission member Harry Godfrey said.

According to city documents, the project cost is estimated at $27,889.01, and the grant would reimburse about 54% of that, up to the program’s $15,000 cap.

The grant is funded through the city’s Downtown Building Facade Renovation and Replacement Program, which supports improvements within the tax increment financing district II.

The project now moves to the Streator City Council for final approval during its meeting next week at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 16, at City Hall.