Mason City Building Renovation-Life Safety Grant Program (BuRLS)
City of Mason City, Iowa
Building Renovation/Life Safety Grant
Residential Program and Business Creation/Expansion Program
Created May 2022; Revised March 2023
The goal of the Building Renovation/Life Safety Grant Program is to encourage 1) the creation or rehabilitation, of dwelling units in existing commercial and residential buildings, and 2) to encourage business creation and expansion in commercial buildings, where compliance with the Fire Code makes dwelling units or business creation or expansion financially infeasible. This grant program provides an incentive to create/renovate dwelling units or create/expand economically viable businesses within existing buildings, leading to stable occupancy, increased property values, and economic benefits to Downtown Mason City, to the older commercial corridors in the city, and to the city as a whole.
Program: The City will provide grants for projects where meeting the requirements of the Fire Code makes creation or expansion of a business in an existing building infeasible. The program is intended for 1) creation of new dwelling units; or 2) creation or expansion of businesses, and job creation and retention. All projects must lead to building revitalization and an increase in assessed property value; all grants must support these goals. This program is intended only for renovation of existing buildings; new construction is not eligible. While commercial buildings along the major high-way corridors within the Corridor Revitalization Loan (CoRL) area are eligible, projects in the DoRL (Downtown Revitalization Loan) area will receive priority.
Eligible Properties: Creation of dwelling units or creation/expansion of a business within an existing commercial building, when construction requires installation of a sprinkler system or other atypical elements required to meet the Fire Code, located in the areas eligible for a Corridor Revitalization Loan (CoRL) or a Downtown Revitalization Loan (DoRL). Residential projects in any neighborhood outside of the CoRL or DoRL areas, where the applicant can show that renovation/rehabilitation of a duplex/two-flat or multi-residential building will remove a blighting influence or otherwise in-crease neighborhood property value, may also be eligible. In all cases, the applicant must show that compliance with the Fire Code makes creation or expansion of the business infeasible.
Eligible Applicants: The applicant must be the owner of the property, which must be fully taxable. The owner may apply on behalf of the building ten-ant(s), but the owner will be the responsible party and must sign all agreements and contracts with the City. Meeting eligibility requirements is not a guarantee of approval.
Eligible Projects: Funding is available to eligible property owners to relieve the cost of meeting the Fire Code when the project:
- Creates or renovates at least two (2) residential units (with a preference for units rented at market rate) in an existing commercial or mixed-use building. Creating upper-story units in Downtown buildings receives the highest priority.
- Creates or renovates at least two (2) residential units in an existing building or house that was originally constructed as a residential building, where the applicant can show that such creation or renovation will remove a blighting influence on the surrounding neighborhood and will lead to improved aesthetics and higher assessed property value for both the affected property and surrounding properties.
- Creates or expands a business in an existing building within the designated CoRL and DoRL areas, when such construction requires installation of a sprinkler system or other atypical elements necessary to meet the Fire Code.
- Develops other projects that meet Program goals, as deter-mined by the Loan Review Committee and City Council.
The following are not eligible:
- New building construction (other than an addition to an existing building).
- Any project that cannot show that Program goals are met.
- A project that leads to loss of historic integrity or character.
- A project that is not in character with Downtown or the surrounding neighborhood.
- Any project that does not meet requirements of the Zoning Ordinance.
- Single family homes or single-unit projects.
- Speculative construction in commercial buildings. The applicant must show that a viable business will be located in the building upon completion of the project.
The application must be made and approved before the project commences. Grant funds may not be used toward improvements begun prior to the date of the Grant Agreement. The cost of improvements commenced or completed prior to the date of the Grant Agreement may not be counted towards meeting the match requirement; however, engineering or architect costs related to design of fire protection requirements expended prior to the application may be considered by the Grant and Loan Review Commit-tee and included in the grant.
Eligible Improvements: Projects that are required to install a sprinkler system or replace a sprinkler system that is obsolete in order to meet Fire Code requirements within an existing building, are eligible for this pro-gram. In addition to installation of the sprinkler system, the cost of the following elements, if required to meet the Fire Code and found eligible by the Forgivable Loan and Grant Review Committee, may also be paid for with this grant:
- Installation of egress windows or doors, including replacement of existing doors with fire-rated doors
- Installation or upgrade of egress stairs, whether internal or construction of a stair tower addition (this also includes renovation of an existing exterior fire escape, if approved by the Fire Marshal).
- Installation or upgrade of fire separation walls, floors, or ceilings
- Installation of an elevator, if required by either the Fire Code or the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Installation of a fire alarm system, if the cost exceeds the typical cost of a commercial alarm system (for example, if the first-floor use will include a commercial kitchen, a more sophisticated and expensive alarm system is required as op-posed to a standard commercial alarm system). The applicant will need to show that the required system is above and beyond a typical alarm system.
- Any other upgrade required by the Fire Marshal to meet the requirements of the Fire Code.
Assistance Provided: All projects are eligible for a grant of up to $100,000. The City Council may approve a grant for more than the above limit for buildings in the Downtown Revitalization Loan (DoRL) district, or for other buildings considered to be historically or culturally significant, if such increased amount is recommended for approval by the Forgivable Loan and Grant Review Committee, the Development Services Director, and the City Administrator. Availability of grant funds are subject to annual appropriations by the City Council.
Match: An applicant for property within the designated CoRL and DoRL districts must show total private investment at least 200% greater than the requested grant. In all other areas, the applicant must show a total private investment of 300%. Private investment shall consist of funds from a non-public source, such as owner cash, owner investment, loans from private lending institutions, grants from private sources, etc. Public assistance from the Federal government, the State of Iowa or the City Mason City (such as CDBG, Historic Tax Credits, Workforce Housing Tax Credits, CoRL, DoRL, etc.) may not be counted towards meeting the match requirement; however, such funds may be used in financing the overall project.
Disbursement: The grant shall be disbursed as a reimbursement for the costs related to meeting the Fire Code. An approved grantee shall be eligible for three draws of the approved grant funds; the first draw will pay forty percent (40%) of the approved grant when fifty per-cent (50%) of the costs related to meeting the Fire Code have been expended; the second draw will pay an additional forty per-cent (40%) of the approved grant when one hundred percent (100%) of the costs related to meeting the Fire Code have been expended; the final draw will pay the remaining twenty percent (20%) of the approved grant when the project has been issued a Certificate of Occupancy.
Other Programs: Owners of property within the Corridor Revitalization Loan (CoRL) and the Downtown Revitalization Loan (DoRL) areas are eligible for forgivable loans provided by those programs. Main Street
Mason City provides low-interest loans through the Downtown Revolving Loan Fund. Grant recipients are also eligible for Urban Re-vitalization tax abatement on the increased assessed value resulting from improvements constructed under this program (combinations of these programs may not be allowed; check with City staff for information). Assistance programs through the State and Federal governments may also be available. NOTE: as stated above, funding from non-private sources cannot be used as meeting the investment matching requirement.
Approval: Staff will be assisted by the Grant and Loan Review Committee (“Committee”). The Committee consists of: a) at least three business or property owners within the CoRL and DoRL districts; b) one architect, construction manager, estimator, or similar construction professional; c) one banker or similar financial professional, d) the City Finance Director (or designee); and e) the Development Services Director (or designee). All projects shall respect the historic character of existing buildings, and all construction shall be consistent and complementary with Downtown and neighborhood character. In addition, all re-quests will be reviewed by the City Assessor to evaluate the tax impact of the improvements.
The Committee will review the application, ensure that the improvements complement the neighborhood and encourage further reinvestment, decide the appropriate funding level, and determine if the request meets the goals of the Program. The Committee may recommend approval of a different grant amount than that requested.
If the application meets the program requirements, the Commit-tee will recommend approval to the City Council, who will make the final decision. Only loans recommended for approval by the Committee will be forwarded to the City Council for final disposition.
Post Approval: The property shall not be vacated or abandoned, nor shall any part of the property be converted to a non-taxable state, for at least seven (7) years after final disbursement of the grant funds. If the created or expanded business ceases for economic reasons or a reason beyond the control of the owner, the owner shall provide proof that positive efforts are being made to fill the vacancy, such as proof of active marketing. Should the property be vacated or abandoned, or if the owner fails to proactively market the property, or the property is converted to a non-taxable state during the seven (7) year period, the applicant will be in de-fault of the Grant Agreement and the City reserves the right to require repayment of any or all of the granted funds, in proportion to the magnitude of the breach of the grant agreement.