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Business owners tout downtown living in Urbana

Annette Charles, of Urbana, stands in the kitchen of her loft apartment in downtown Urbana. Charles said the building needed major repairs before she renovated it.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Marshall Gorby Annette Charles, of Urbana, stands in the kitchen of her loft apartment in downtown Urbana. Charles said the building needed major repairs before she renovated it.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Photos: Tour downtown Urbana

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Dave Smith stands across the street from a three-story building he plans to renovate in the 200 block of Miami Street. When finished, Smith said he plans to call the space the Skylight Lofts. Staff photos by Marshall Gorby

Proposed renovations envision loft-style apartments, short-stay hotel.

By Matt Sanctis, Staff Writer Updated 3:02 PM Sunday, March 21, 2010

Driving along U.S. 68 through downtown Urbana, Monument Square probably doesn’t inspire thoughts of upscale, urban living.

Hulking semi-trailers rumble through the center of the downtown, rolling past a solemn statue in the middle of the roundabout in Monument Square. There are a few local restaurants, an art studio and several privately owned shops, but the streets are largely empty, and a many of its 19th-century storefronts sit empty.

However, behind the brown brick walls of several of those buildings, most of which were built in the 1800s, a handful of local businessmen are quietly working to transform dark, musty rooms into fashionable lofts, short-stay hotel rooms and environmentally friendly apartments.

The projects are in various stages of completion, and none of the owners coordinated their efforts, but most of them are expected to be completed within the next two years.

Dave Smith, who owns Freshwater Farms Inc. on U.S. 68, is renovating a three-story building in the 200 block of North Main Street. The building, which consists of 12 two-room suites, was once filled with attorneys’ and dentists’ offices. The third floor of the building has been vacant since the 1920s, but when he’s finished, Smith envisions a combination of loft apartments and business spaces.

He chose the space, he said, because downtown Urbana has several advantages over other cities in the area when it comes to downtown living.

“As far as creating urban living, Urbana has a head start,” Smith said. “Banks are still downtown, there’s the square, restaurants, a grocery store, coffee houses, etc.”

All of those other businesses, he said, are within easy walking distance, and rent in most of the buildings is affordable.

Smith said he believes if more spaces are available downtown, it will eventually attract more young families, students and couples who are looking for an affordable place to retire. While families have been moving out of the city for years, Smith said he believes many people are beginning to look at cities as a more attractive option again.

“When I was growing up, urban was a dirty word,” Smith said. “And it’s not anymore.”

Whenever Annette Charles wants to remember what her home in downtown Urbana looked like when she bought it 10 years ago, all she has to do is flip through a couple pages of her photo album.

The loft-style apartment, located just above her business, the Hair Co. Salon and Spa, had warped floors, minor structural problems and decades old plaster coating the walls. A former cafe, it had been vacant for more than 10 years when Charles decided to remodel the space into a structure that would house both her business and her home.

“Basically, you’re buying a shell,” Charles said of the building, which, like many in the downtown, was first constructed in the 1800s. But after a series of renovations, the building’s first floor houses a spacious, well-lit salon with tile floors, brick walls and separate areas for manicures, pedicures and body treatments. When work is over, Charles simply walks out the rear of her salon, up a short flight of stairs and into her upstairs apartment, which features the same red brick walls and a massive window that looks just across the street to the county courthouse. With a grocery store, several restaurants within easy walking distance, and a nearby bike trail, Charles said she can go for more than a week at a time without ever setting foot in her car.

“I think I take for granted the simplicity my life has,” she said.

Now, a handful of business owners are hoping that by renovating several other buildings in and around downtown Urbana, they will be able to entice other residents like Charles to live and work downtown as well. If successful, they believe the projects could be a first step to help revitalize the downtown, making it a more attractive place for others to live or open a small business. Each of the five projects have slightly different goals, including short-stay hotel rooms, loft apartments and space for business.

Downtown potential

Mike Major said he first noticed the potential for the downtown area when he moved to the city years ago. A well-known local artist, Major is in the planning stages of a project to renovate space above his art studio on Miami Street, as well as spaces at 113 and 115 N. Main St.

Working with his daughter, a Columbus architect, Major said he has plans to renovate the now-empty spaces into environmentally friendly loft apartments that can attract families and individuals who are looking for a more convenient lifestyle.

Many of the buildings downtown have been empty since the 1950s or 60s, when businesses and residents began to move to the county or to suburbs near larger cities. But Major said this is the first time in decades that he can remember seeing so many individuals willing to take a risk and invest in the city’s downtown.

“I have more enthusiasm where I think it’s finally happening,” he said.

Melanie Kendrick, community development director for Urbana, said there’s no sure way to tell what’s driving the new investments downtown, but she said there may be several factors involved.

Most of the downtown is already zoned for a mix of commercial and residential spaces. Restaurants, shopping, and a full-service grocery store are all located within easy walking distance, and because many have been vacant for so long, rent on the majority of the spaces is affordable.

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