LA GRANDE — Five La Grande businesses will receive help with business expansions, building renovations and new construction thanks to the city’s Urban Renewal Agency and Urban Renewal Advisory Commission’s call for projects.

Conklin Property Management, K. Voelz Winery, All Phase Electric and Preseason Playground were the top four ranked projects and all will receive full funding of $75,000. As the fifth-ranked project, Appliances and More will be awarded partial funding.

“I think you’ll see that we have a pretty diverse group of projects this year,” said Timothy Bishop, the city of La Grande’s director of economic development. “We have everything from new construction, which I think is the first at least since I’ve been here that we have new construction in the call for projects, and we have a pretty good geographic representation of the district as well.”

While the adopted budget for the program allocates $350,000 for projects not located within the La Grande Business and Technology Park, a total of $410,814 in eligible funding was requested across six proposals. Funding is allocated starting with the highest ranked proposal and working down the list. As such, the Urban Renewal Agency and Urban Renewal Advisory Commission could not fund every project.

Fully funded projects

The highest-scoring project was Conklin Property Management, 216 Chestnut St. Owners Nate and Tamara Conklin are developing the former EONI building at the corner of Chestnut Street and Jefferson Avenue into a new mixed-use space.

The project will create a new office space for State Farm Insurance, which the Conklins own, along with a new area called Railroad Station. This space will include hookups for food trucks with an adjacent taphouse and restaurant area, a shared-use commercial kitchen and possibly a retail or maker space.

“I know that (La Grande Main Street Downtown Economic Vitality) Committee is working on identifying potential food truck vendors as contacts. I think (Conklin) has his own concept, but doesn’t have a vendor or manager in mind yet for the taphouse. We’re working with him in-house on some of the concept and build-out around the commercial kitchen as part of our work with some of the existing food entrepreneurs,” Bishop said.

The Conklins requested and will receive $75,000 from the call for projects process.

K. Voelz Winery was the second highest-scoring project. Owner Kimberly Voelz is working on an adaptive reuse project to turn the former NAPA Auto Parts building, 1104 Jefferson Ave., into a tasting room. She plans to eventually expand and include full wine production.

The project includes a roof replacement, asbestos abatement, installing a fire alarm system, Americans with Disabilities Act improvements and exterior paint.

Voelz was awarded $75,000 in funding.

“In this element we’re talking predominantly around the tasting room,” Bishop said. “Long term, the hope is, and the plan is, that the back half of the space will become the operational winery.”

Coming in as the third highest-ranked project was new construction by All Phase Electrical Construction at 301 Adams Ave. The development would create five short-term vacation rental units and nine-long term residential units.

The property is an overgrown vacant lot located on the northeast entry into La Grande. The lot is within a commercial zone, which includes vacation rentals as an outright use. Bishop said that the zoning also allows for 20% of the ground floor to be residential.

This aligns with the plan for five vacation rentals and two long-term residential units for the ground floor.

Some members expressed concerns about the possibility of the owners deciding to get rid of the long-term residential units and converting the whole dwelling into short-term vacation rentals.

The project was not awarded points on the staff scoring rubric for creating residential units since the property is not located within the central business zone. However, members of the agency and commission may allocated more discretionary points to the project. (Members have the opportunity to allocate an additional 65 discretionary points per project).

When discussing funding allocation the agency and commission considered including as a condition of approval that the identified residential units be retained as long-term residential dwellings for five years or the grant funding converts to a loan that needs to be immediately repaid.

“The way I’m looking at it, this gentleman wants to put a 14-unit hotel in at that side of town — fantastic. We could use some on that side,” commission member Matt Scarfo said.

Agency members David Glabe and Mary Ann Miesner agreed with Scarfo. Glabe explained that he asked himself whether he would fund the project if it were a hotel.

“My short answer is yes because we need more short-term housing as well as long-term housing,” he said.

“I would like it to stay residential, but I can see the value either way,” Miesner added.

Ultimately the condition was voted down and not implemented as a requirement. This decision aligned with past decisions by the agency and commission, according to City Manager Robert Strope.

“Historically, it has been approving the improvements to the building because that’s what the value is based on that the agency receives their revenues from,” he said.

The applicant requested and received $75,000 in funding.

Preseason Playground, 712 18th St., ranked fourth and was the last project to receive full funding. Applicant Geoffrey Robinson is working on an adaptive reuse project that will turn the former home of Self Service Furniture into a new fitness and physical therapy center run by Shantay Mayes.

The project includes extensive site improvements, including the creation of 24 new off-street parking spaces, a new driveway entrance, sidewalks and landscaping. The building has water damage from failed gutters that needs to be repaired along with the necessary installation of new gutters and drains. Work will be done to repair the roof, install new insulation and remove the existing rock facade.

Robinson was awarded $75,000 in funding.

Other projects

Appliances and More received the final $50,000 of the call for project’s budget. Owners Jay and Kristin Wilson requested $75,000 in funding to help replace the windows and doors on three sides of the building, 212 Greenwood St.

The Quilt Barn, which was looking to turn 1708 Jefferson Ave. from a vacant storage shed into a new storefront, did not receive funding.