At the most recent Perry City Council meeting, one of the action items was the approval of an urban renewal loan.

The application was submitted by Jeremy Mahler, the owner of the Common Wealth Provisions sandwich shop, located at 1215 2nd Street. He requested $23,800 to remodel the outside of the building he owns, which used to house Bacon Jewelers and Perry Floral. The Council approved the loan, which has a 3% interest rate and will be paid back over a five year period. Mahler still needs to get the approval of the Historic Preservation Commission, who will decide if the project meets their design guidelines for downtown Perry.

City Administrator Sven Peterson says loan requests like this one have been relatively common recently, as business owners have taken advantage of the program in order to improve the City’s overall aesthetic. “So a number of years ago, the City Council developed an urban renewal loan program. So that’s a revolving loan program that is focused on making repairs and some remodels to primarily downtown buildings. So we’ve had a lot of different property owners take advantage of this over the years, and that money is repaid at a low interest rate, goes back into the pot for the next property owner to take out a loan, and improve their building.”

Peterson adds, any business owner interested in taking advantage of the urban renewal loan program is encouraged to reach out to him at Perry City Hall at 515-465-2481.