Corning company gets Downtown Revitalization Project bid

Work is expected to start later this spring on the west side of the Greenfield Public Square as part of a Downtown Revitalization Project.

The Greenfield City Council awarded Cornerstone Commercial Contractors of Corning the contract for the project with a base bid of $465,023.

All building owners involved still have the opportunity to back out of the project if they wish to. Business owners are also required to participate financially in the project.

This project is made possible by a $530,000 grant for facade improvements through the Iowa Economic Development Authority funded by the federal Community Development Block Grant program. Funds may be used to rehabilitate blighted downtown buildings.

Three measures were approved by the city council in September 2022 that set in motion the grant application. The Franks Design Group of Glenwood was hired at the recommendation of Greenfield Chamber Main Street and Southern Iowa Council of Governments to evaluate facades that could be part of the project. The grant requires matching funds as well as city partnership financially.

A slum and blight assessment was conducted to determine what specific area of the square could be focused upon because the public square is a tax increment financing (TIF) district. Slum and blight is characterized as anything in need of repair.

The contract will be ready Feb. 13, so a 270-day calendar begins then for work to get done, officials said.

Greenfield Chamber Main Street and Development’s Stacie Eshelman will work through the duration of the project as a liason between building owners, contractors and the community. SICOG’s Jeremy Rounds will help stay on top of needed documentation for the grant.

Architects will work with contractors to make sure work is being carried out correctly and to historic preservation standards. Cornerstone sub-contracts a lot of its work out to other contractors, officials said.