Milton Mercantile owner plans renovations

The Milton Mercantile building is about to get a much-needed facelift.

Property owner Glenn Howard wants to replace the building's crumbling façade, but to do so he had to present the plan to the town's Historic Preservation Commission. During a Jan. 13 commission meeting, he cited the building's compromised foundation as a reason to move forward with construction as soon as possible.

“It's all brick, and it's all crushed right down the middle,” he said. “It's just a constant weight.”

Howard proposed builder-recommended plans to use Hardie board, not brick, for the façade, for safety and financial reasons.

A soil engineer reported that the soil at 109 Union St. provides poor to moderate conditions for building, Howard told commissioners. He said using real brick could result in the same deterioration that is posing potential safety risks. He said he was advised by his builder and engineers that the safest and most secure plan would be to remove the façade and existing foundation, install a new foundation and rebuild with typical framing. The foundation will be brick, and Hardie board siding on the front of the building will be better for the property's commercial uses, he said.

Commissioners raised concerns about changing the appearance of a historically brick building, but they acknowledged that the building is in desperate need of renovations.

“You kind of put us between a rock and a hard place here, because we know the businesses downtown need to be viable, and the town has given us the responsibility to save as many things as we can in town,” Commissioner P.D. Camenish said. “To tear this façade down, it would bring a lot of grief on us.”

But, Camenish said, the building is in bad shape, and it will eventually fall down if nothing is done.

“It's just bothersome that you don't have a million bucks,” he joked.

The building at 109 Union St., which houses the Milton Mercantile, was built in 1910 or 1912 as a two-story commercial building and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

“This building is noted in the original application as a brick building. It's next door to a brick building. It's across the street from a brick building. And it's really one of the centerpiece buildings of our historic downtown. And I understand that brick façades cost more than Hardie board façades, but to keep the character of our downtown I ask that you consider the brick,” Commissioner Barbara Wagner said.

Howard returned to the commission Jan. 26 with alternate options for brick veneer, a styrofoam material mimicking brick texture and a vinyl brick veneer. He cited concerns with the quality of the fabricated materials and urged commissioners to reconsider his original proposal to use Hardie board.

Commissioners approved Hardie board siding, with a few requests to maintain some historical features, such as replicating the building's corners and cornices if possible. Commissioners Michael Filicko and Amy Kratz were absent.

Howard also plans to remove the building's door to create an open vestibule, reconfigure the downstairs windows to a more historical size, and install four uniform, equally spaced, double-hung windows on the second floor. The downstairs windows will measure 7.5 feet tall and 7 feet wide, he said.

The commission unanimously approved his proposal for the door, windows and lighting fixtures during the Jan. 13 meeting. Commissioner Kevin Kelly was absent.

The Hardie board will be “countrylane red” and the second-floor windows will be fitted with black louvered shutters. Howard also hopes to reuse the existing metal trim between the first and second floors and will fit crown molding and decorative corbels at the top of the building.

Howard said he plans to begin renovations after the town's Saint Patrick's Day parade in March and expects the project will cost more than $100,000.

Howard said that since he purchased the Milton Theatre and Milton Mercantile building and moved to Milton, he's poured all of his efforts into the town. He said he is selling a piece of property to help pay for upgrades at the Mercantile building and said he believes the rendering of his project will offer a classy improvement to Milton's downtown district.

“I'm investing everything I have in Milton,” he said. “But, I really have to be smart about it. I have to do it as a business decision. I'm not made of money. I don't have a trust fund. I'm an electrician by trade, and I work by myself. I'm just trying to make something happen.”