St Johnsbury coming back from destructive fires

In mid-July, Kingdom Partners announced it was purchasing a Railroad Street building that was heavily damaged in downtown St Johnsbury's tragic January 28 fire. The fire killed three men. Local people hope it is another important step toward a recovery of a downtown devastated by four fires since the first of this year.

Kingdom Partners is already involved in plans to rehabilitate the old Aubuchon Building and the Village Square Mall across the street from the fire site, said Alison Meaders, downtown coordinator for St Johnsbury.

That project, involving more than 30,000 square feet, will include second story offices, three or four retail spaces, a restaurant and common area. Two tenants have already signed agreements for that property, and Kingdom Partners is working very hard to have at least the retail space operating by the coming holiday season, said Meaders, even though the $700,000 project, which they have dubbed "Railroad Street Marketplace," may not be completely finished by that time.

The fire damaged a building it bought in mid-July, which was once one of the Hovey's Shops. Neil Raphel, of the Kingdom Partners group, said the group's plan is for stores on the street level and apartments above. He could not provide any estimate of the cost to renovate the damaged building, but said they did hope to be able to restore it.

Also under way are plans for new construction on the site of the Daniels Building, destroyed in that January fire. Meaders said the Gilman Housing Trust has acquired the property and plans to rebuild, using the upper floors for senior housing, with retail space on the first level. Homer Fitts, a clothing store burned out in January, has signed a contract to go back in when the new construction is completed, probably in the fall of 2001, she said.

But even as plans progress to rebuild from the January fire, another fire on July 8 left five people homeless and a historic Main Street building in ruins. It also closed two more downtown businesses, Yankee Electronic Solutions and Wear in Time. Meaders said efforts were under way to find housing for the people who lost their apartments and locations for those two businesses.

Already reopened are three other businesses damaged in two March 3 fires on Eastern Avenue: Byrne Electronic Service Center, Discount Videos and

Avenue Market Pawn Shop.

Of course the January fire was by far the most devastating, said Darcie McCann of the Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce.

"The human loss of life added so much more of a dimension to it, and this really took the wind out of people's sails here." It also struck a severe blow against the heart of the downtown. That fire put out of business Homer Fitts and Elizabeth's Large Size Fashions, as well as Shoe Country, Kingdom Toys, and Northern Lights Bookstore & Cafe.

Northern Lights, which McCann described as a downtown "landmark," reopened at the beginning of June and Kingdom Toys reopened in July. Elizabeth Large Size Fashions plans to reopen in the Aubuchon building, and only Shoe Country will not reopen, said Meaders.

Helping in the rebuilding process is a $1 million federal grant from a new Housing and Urban Development program called the Neighborhood Initiatives. The program is designed to help communities that are "in economic distress," said McCann.

That grant money will be used for several different aspects of the redevelopment, said Meaders. From that grant, $100,000 has been given to Gilman Housing Trust to help with constructing a new face to blend in with the Victorian design of the block. Low-interest loans from that grant will also help the Kingdom Partners with their plans for a new brick facade on the Aubuchon building.

The fires, said Meaders, have been devastating, but they have also prompted a new local commitment to the community.

"It has helped to stimulated new public and private partnerships to revitalize St Johnsbury," she said. The key now is to keep going, and take advantage of the existing resources, including local talent and enthusiasm, as well as the classic Victorian architecture that is a signature of St Johnsbury.

Copyright Boutin-McQuiston, Inc. Aug 01, 2000
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