Eight buildings on Main Street in Coon Rapids are undergoing façade renovations and two additional are undergoing complete interior and exterior renovations. The goal is to enhance and restore the building facades to remove blight and improve the Main Street appearance.

These projects are made possible through partnerships between the building owners, City of Coon Rapids, Main Street Coon Rapids (MSCR) and the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). The IEDA has granted either the city or MSCR a $689,000 CDBG-CV Facade grant, $200,000 Downtown Housing Grant, $100,000 Community Catalyst Building Remediation Grant and $100,000 Main Street Challenge Grant. The majority of the projects will be complete by the summer of 2023.

Below are descriptions of each building along with historic and per-renovation photos and construction renderings. Click on the photos to enlarge.

400 Main Street: Former Ambulance building 400 Main Street served the City of Coon Rapids from 1900-2015 as a fire hall and ambulance station. Cory and Keely Sanden are the current owners. Through the CDBG-CV façade program, the building will receive significant tuckpointing, structural support, new storefront doors and the storefront garage door will be replaced with windows.
406 Main Street: Main Street Coon Rapids office 406 Main Street is owned by the City of Coon Rapids and houses the Main Street Coon Rapids office. Through the CDBG-CV façade program, the building will receive new store front windows, the addition of a window west of the door, new residential door, restoration of residential transom window, an awning and tuckpointing.
408 Main Street: Nature Ammil 408 Main Street was once a breakroom and quality assurance lab for the Garst Seed company. It has been owned by Carrie Bluml since 2019 for the use as Natural Ammil. Through the CDBG-CV façade program, the building will receive new store front windows, a new residential door, restoration of the residential transom window, an awning and tuckpointing.
413 Main Street: Venteicher building 413 Main Street was built in 1895 and most notably remembered as the Hague Hatchery and later Esdohr Plumbing. Steve Venteicher has owned the building since 1995. Steve’s daughter-in-law, Alisa Venteicher, currently operates her photography studio in the storefront and the warehouse portion of the building is utilized for Venteicher Electric storage. Through the CDBG-CV façade program, the building’s transom windows will be reinstalled, the storefront windows replaced, a new garage door installed and the façade will be tuckpointed and repainted.
500 Main Street: Mohr Construction and Brown Bag & Co. 500 Main Street is actually two buildings that have been operating as one for several decades. The east building is a two-story wooden structure built around 1890. It has housed hardware stores, an implement shop, auto repair and filling station, farm and home and lumber businesses. The west building, is a one-story brick structure that was originally a bank. Jim and Cherrie Mohr have owned the buildings and operated Mohr Lumber there since 2007. In 2020, Mohr renovated the east bay for the opening of Brown Bag & Co. Through the CDBG-CV façade program, this building will receive the most dramatic overhaul of the buildings involved in the CDBG-CV program. The woodshake awning and second story green tin will be removed to reveal the original wood and brick facades of the two buildings. The facades will be tuckpointed and repaired according to historical photos. When complete, the buildings will once again look like the two separate buildings that they originated as.
504 Main Street: Coon Rapids Enterprise 504 Main Street was built in 1900. In its early days it was a dry goods store, men’s clothing store and the like, but has been the home to the Coon Rapids Enterprise since 1947. Charlie Nixon has been the owner and operater of the business since 1981. Through the CDBG-CV façade program, the building’s transom windows will be reinstalled, structural issues resolved, façade tuckpointed and a new entrance installed.
508 Main Street: Village Hobby House 508 Main Street was built 1911 by the Masonic Lodge which owned the building until Teresa and Dan Royer purchased the building in 2005. The storefront has housed several types of retail and photography shops over the years with Jaxine Petty operating Village Hobby House there since 1982. Through the CDBG-CV façade program, the building will receive new storefront, second story and transom windows, tuckpointing and storefront tile repair/replacement.
511 Main Street: Northside 511 Main Street was built in 1895 and while it housed retailers for the first 60 years of its life, it has been the home of Northside café and then bar since 1960. It is most notably known as the Northside Recreational Parlor. The two-story Romanesque commercial building still has much of its historic attributes, including cornice and parapet. However, the building sustained damage in 2018 when a fire destroyed the IOOF building next door. S&L Northside Rec., LLC purchased the building in 2021. The owners have a very ambitious plan to completely renovate the building from top to bottom. The IEDA awarded a $200,000 Downtown Housing grant and the City of Coon Rapids contributed $37,500 to fund renovation of two second-floor apartments, a new roof, repair of the east wall and new second story windows. The IEDA also awarded a $100,000 Main Street Iowa Challenge Grant to transform Northside’s first-floor bar into a high-end establishment. The transformation includes a new storefront façade and complete interior renovation. New restrooms, flooring, HVAC and electrical will be installed and the tin ceiling rehabilitated. The space will be reconfigured and an outdoor patio will be added to allow a better atmosphere for patrons.
517 Main Street: Kristy’s Kuts and Club Birdie 517 Main Street is the site of two buildings dating back to 1895 currently joined as one. It had housed a hardware store since 1985 and been a pivotal building around which other retailers have located. Ryan and Kristy Bass purchased the building in 2021 and are renovating the entire property. They will separate the buildings into their original two structures, renovate the façade, add two additional exterior entrances and create two second-floor apartments. Basses have completed the renovation of the east bay in which Kristy has moved her salon, Kristy’s Kuts. The couple also opened a new golf simulator business on the east side called Club Birdie. The west building is currently under renovation and will be the new home of Natural Expression Photography. The final phase will include adding two apartments to the second story of the building. In addition to Bass’s private investment, IEDA awarded the project a $100,000 Community Catalyst Building Remediation grant and the City of Coon Rapids contributed $37,500.
521 Main Street: Style on Main 521 Main Street was built in 1894 as a bank then operated as the Lyric Theater from 1924-1960. In recent years, it was most notably known as the late Mark Thomas’ law office. Bryan and Jen Spangler purchased the building from Harris Hess in 2018, and Style on Main opened in the storefront in early 2022. Through the CDBG-CV façade program, the building will receive new upper story windows, tuckpointing and repainting.