Mike Lose has downtown Hopkinsville in his crosshairs. In 2006, the relocating retailer of military and law enforcement products learned he could buy three buildings on Main Street for about the same price as one prime location in Clarksville.

“You could do a lot with little money (in Hopkinsville),” Lose said.

Lose’s business, ATS Tactical Gear, had outgrown its Oak Grove location. So he snatched up three properties near the northwest corner of Main and East Eighth streets and moved his offices and inventory to Hopkinsville. Not only did Lose gain the space ATS Tactical needed, but he also acquired enough extra space to open an alterations shop, an event hall and a bar. It was a whole lot more than he bargained for.

Thanks to some generous city incentives, Lose is stretching his dollars again. He has collected $20,000 in reimbursements for extensively remodeling the interiors of two buildings and for re-bricking the backside of one of his properties. Upon completion of the front façade of the Hogshead/Brighton Hall building, he expects to receive an additional reimbursement of up to $10,000.

Another incentive allowed to Lose to lock in a lower tax rate on all three properties for an extended period.

Hopkinsville City Council approved the incentive programs two years ago to entice revitalization along downtown’s busiest blocks that front Main Street and East Ninth Street. To be eligible, a property needed to lie within either the Heart of Downtown or the Downtown Gateway districts.

The biggest carrot is a 50-50 matching grant program, which reimburses both owners and tenants for half of their project cost. Properties with a business on the first floor and residential units on the second were eligible for up to $20,000 in reimbursements. Purely commercial properties could collect as much as $15,000 and purely residential up to $10,000.

Applicants to the matching grant can get an additional $5,000 in reimbursements for painting the exterior façade. 

Other incentives include up to $35,000 in collateral for construction loans and a five-year extension of predevelopment tax rates. A brochure put out by Community and Development Services (CDS) office explain the programs in detail.

Holly Boggess, assistant director at CDS and head of the Downtown Renaissance program, says the incentives fit well into the bigger picture of downtown revitalization. The Inner-City Residential Enterprise Zone was created in 2005 to promote clean and safe neighborhoods, improve the housing stock, increase economic opportunity and build economic infrastructure.

Development incentives act as a domino in this important effort, Boggess says. The more business owners improve their buildings, the more customers and new business they will attract. The better downtown’s commercial corridors do, the better the housing stock in surrounding neighborhoods becomes to accommodate the surge in interest from people who prefer urban areas. The combination of growing business and housing markets then drive efforts in safety and employment.  

“Investment in downtown can have a domino effect on the entire community,” Boggess said.

A century-old back stairway inside ATS Tactical Gear is looking like new. ATS owner Mike Lose was able to undertake such renovations thanks in part to reimbursements and tax breaks associated with the Downtown Renaissance program.

Lose wants to be among those who knock down the first domino. He has put tens of thousands of dollars of his own money into the restoration of 19th century ceilings, staircases and storefronts. Of course, there is the thrill of shining up landmarks to their former glory. More important to an entrepreneur, there is also the prospect of getting in early on a growing business hub. Lose said he believes many other business owners out there have the desire and pockets to locate downtown.

Local entrepreneur Virginia Gray always pictured her lobbying firm Trifecta Solutions in a downtown office. The city center was, after all, where government officials convened and worked.  Plus, downtown had the right vibe.

“There’s something sexy about a building downtown,” Gray said.

When she found a two-story brick on West Seventh Street for the right price in 2009, Gray saw her opportunity. Because the building needed a lot of remodeling, she had big questions for Boggess about available incentives. How much could she really count on the city to reimburse her for renovations? What strings were attached to the money? And in the end, would the red tape involved make the application for reimbursements more trouble than it was worth? Gray said Boggess put her mind at ease. As a building that was to have a strictly commercial use, Gray’s renovations were classified a Tier II project and therefore eligible for up to $15,000. Definitely, a savings the firm’s bottom line could feel, Gray thought.

Local lobbying firm Trifecta Solutions bought and renovated this West Seventh Street location last year with the help of $13,700 in city incentives. Owner Virginia Gray said the deal is so attractive that she is on the lookout for more downtown buildings for sale.

Boggess further explained that the matching grant had a couple of important conditions on it. First, the recipient would have a five-year mortgage placed on the property.. Payments on the mortgage would be completely forgiven after five years as long as the property owner maintained ownership for the duration and followed through with any commitments made to convert the upper levels to residential use.

The mortgage requirement is a safeguard against someone using taxpayer money to flip a property purely for profit rather than developing it for sustainability. Because Gray planned to set up shop downtown for the long-term, she had no qualms about signing.

The second condition for reimbursement, which applies solely to exterior renovation, is that the project be approved by the Renaissance Design Review Board. The board aims to preserve the architectural integrity of a historic district. Gray understood that the Renaissance standards were higher than the property code, but was assured that she would get help to comply.

When Boggess hands out an application, she offers to personally take someone through it page by page.

“I want to make sure that questions get answered quickly and that the applicant knows every single thing they need to get approved,” Boggess said. 

Gray also learned she could apply for a $500 reimbursement for any architectural services needed on her project.

Was all this financial and technical assistance really as good as advertised? There was only one way to find out. Gray bought the building and started the makeover: new ceilings and lighting, walls stripped down to the brick, spaces knocked for windows and a faux beam put in for a factory look. It took about three months.
 
Meanwhile, Gray fulfilled her due diligence for the grant. She saved receipts and met with members of the Renaissance board and the Local Development Corporation, She completed paperwork which documented the property’s existing condition as well as the plans for improvement. She co-operated with inspections.

When she had obtained a Certificate of Occupancy, she filed for reimbursement of $13,700. The check came within 10 days.

“(The process) was a lot less cumbersome than what I anticipated,” Gray said.

In fact, Gray is so sold on the program that she is considering acquiring another downtown building.