Downtown awnings on way out
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McMinnville officials have authorized the city’s Public Works Department to remove the metal awnings at the department’s discretion in anticipation of construction for the first phase of the Main Street McMinnville downtown revitalization project.
About 20 addresses on East Main Street are affected, according to documents presented to the city by Main Street McMinnville last week. Officials said the awnings are being removed for practical reasons and not necessarily for looks.
“That’s an eye-of-the-beholder kind of thing, but the main reason we’re trying to do it with this project is the construction itself will probably be interfering, with the heavy equipment we’re bringing in,” Mayor Royce Davenport said, also making note of new fixtures planned for downtown.
Main Street McMinnville director Chris Wilson said he is working to inform property owners of the removal of the awnings.
“They understand why they are coming down. The streets and sidewalk improvements can’t happen without them coming down. Most have been agreeable because they see the progress it’s going to make,” Wilson said of the awnings.
Officials said they did not know for certain when removal would begin, but Wilson indicated Main Street officials want to hear from property owners about what’s best for each business. Public Works director Bill Brock said his department is waiting for formal agreements to be made.
“Several steps have to be taken before we can do it,” Brock said. “We need an agreement with these people before we can take them down. We need them to understand that when we remove them, they’re not going back up.”
Major construction for the phase one of the estimated $4.8 million downtown project, which affects Main Street from between Chancery and Market streets, was said to begin in February, but officials said construction is delayed.
They hoped construction could begin in April or May and noted the delays are due to requirements of grants for the project. Grants and other contributions are paying for about $2 million of the cost of the first phase.