(Danville) — A group looking to renovate Danville’s tallest building is asking the Industrial Development Authority for a loan.
According to their agenda, the IDA votes this week on a request for a $1.65 million loan to Masonic Towers Redevelopment, LLC.
It would be through the IDA’s Special Projects Loan Fund. That’s a financing tool for high-impact historic redevelopment projects in the River District. It was established to help provide short-term financing to spur the development of so-called “catalyst high impact projects.”
The 11-story Masonic Temple building on Main Street was owned by the Masonic Corporation for more than 70 years. They sold it in 1997 to Riverside Development—a group headed up by Scott Burton. It was briefly renamed River City Towers. A Florida group purchased it in 2001.
As recently as last year, Williamsburg-based Cornerstone Hospitality listed the Masonic Temple as a project under development. They were planning a hotel with 85 guest rooms, along with meeting spaces and restaurants on the lower levels.
There has been no information released on what specific renovations Masonic Towers Redevelopment, LLC has planned for the century-old building.
Earlier this year, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced $1.76 million in Site Remediation Grants from the Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund (VBAF) was being awarded to six projects. One of them was the Masonic Temple Building.
“Redeveloping brownfield sites is a critical step to enhance community infrastructure and effectively attract economic development, and the Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund is an important vehicle that helps localities across the Commonwealth meet this goal,” said Governor Youngkin. “We are taking proactive steps to remediate properties and drive future economic growth.”
Brownfields are properties in which redevelopment or reuse is complicated by the presence of hazardous materials, pollution, or contaminants. Site Remediation Grants cover efforts that include remediation of a contaminated property to remove hazardous substances and wastes, demolition and removal of existing structures, and other site work necessary to make a site or property usable for new economic development.
