By By JAMES COLLINS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- While the streetscape project may only be affecting one block of Front Street, the City of Niles is looking into the possibility of another project that would improve a significant stretch of the street.
The Front Street Improvement Project would include new curbs, new sidewalks, new pavement and new street lights for Front Street. The city's goal is to make these improvements from Sycamore to Pokagon Street.
Niles City Administrator Terry Eull said they are looking at Front Street because it is an important gateway into the city that could use some freshening up.
Because the project is just in a preliminary stage, Eull was not sure of a price, but felt confident the improvements could be made if they could secure $500,000 to $600,000.
The project is still just a possibility for the future that is awaiting OKs from the Niles City Council, Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
These approvals that the city is waiting on involve a rather complicated transfer of money.
He said the project depends on: the city council agreeing to transfer $225,000 of its money from the streetscape project to the Front Street project; a transfer of $215,000 of the department of housing and urban development entitlement money from streetscape to the Front Street project; and $100,000 from the city's revolving loan funds.
To help make up the money lost from the streetscape project, Eull said the economic development corporation would contribute another $390,000 on top of their current $500,000 loan.
This money would be forgiven if the the city creates 39 new jobs, 25 of which have already been created, Eull said.
If this addition to the loan goes through, the economic development corporation would extend that window of time for creating jobs by two years until the fall of 2007.
Though the city has been exploring the possibility of Front Street improvements for the past couple of months, Eull said they just found out about this recent option last week.
He said the council will make its decision at Monday's meeting and they should hear back from the other organizations involved in the transfers sometime this month.
But, time is of the essence with this new project because construction on the streetscape has already begun.
If the necessary transfers occur to make this project happen, construction would not begin until spring 2005, he said.