DDA hands out nearly $75,000 in grants

Jan. 13—The Brunswick Downtown Development Authority granted almost $75,000 in grants to local businesses on Thursday.

The Commercial Property Enhancement grant can pay upwards of $25,000 or half the project cost, whichever is lower, towards certain improvements and renovations in the downtown development district. The district includes commercial areas along Newcastle, Gloucester, Norwich and Albany streets.

The owner of the brick building near Twin Oaks Restaurant is looking to open a co-op salon, said DDA Executive Director Mathew Hill. Some fixes are needed to the interior structure and electrical, and the owner also wants to make some storm upgrades to an overhead door and shutters, along with improvements to the sanitary facilities and security systems, he said.

The DDA Board voted to grant roughly $18,000.

The next request was for a $25,000 grant for a building at 1609 Gloucester St. for fire safety and security improvements, among other things. The request was from board member Michael Kaufman's father. Kaufman recused himself from voting on the request but said his father was in talks with a physician to take over the property.

The board cast a unanimous vote to grant the request.

Kaufman recused himself from the next two requests as well — improvements to the The Wick, an office complex at 1612 Newcastle St., and The Wick 3.0, another office complex at 501 Gloucester St. He owns both buildings.

Kaufman said both The Wick and The Wick 3.0 need a new elevator to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Replacing one is a substantial project as it requires removal of much of the internal structure and replacement with new equipment. The elevator at The Wick 3.0 was in particularly bad shape, he said, having suffered multiple breakdowns in the last few months.

New elevators use a more reliable style of lifting mechanism from that in both of his buildings, he said.

The board voted unanimously to grant both requests.

Two requests for $2,000 Jump Start Grants came from Burning Reels LLC, a charter fishing business operating out of the Brunswick Landing Marina, and Newcastle Wine Merchant at 1328 Newcastle St.

Tyler Vaughn, one of the business owners, said the company has two boats offering rod and spear fishing trips, scuba diving and sightseeing tours. He added that the business offers the only fishing and sightseeing cruises out of Brunswick and the only scuba cruise in Glynn County.

Newcastle Wine Merchant requested both the $2,000 Jump Start Grant and an $800 grant from the DDA's facade grant program for store signage.

Brandon Boudreau, a local wine steward, plans to open a wine store focusing on small producers. Wine tastings are part of the package, said Hill. He wanted the Jump Start Grant to pay for a transaction register and front-end store equipment.

"It feels like the last puzzle piece for our bar, distillery, brewery area," said DDA Board member Whitney Herndon.

The board voted to approve the Jump Start Grant, but not the facade grant, as the board determined the request for signage would be better covered by another grant.

In other business, the board discussed adding more family oriented activities to First Friday events.

Via The Wick, Kaufman sponsored pony rides with proceeds going toward Keep Golden Isles Beautiful. It wasn't a money-maker by any stretch, he said, and the public reaction was negligible, but he didn't want to give up. Instead, he suggested roping more businesses in to sponsor different activities.

"I think it's novel and I think it's a lot of fun. I personally wouldn't recommend doing this every month. It would burn people out ... maybe once a quarter or a couple times each quarter, and not during the very hot months," said DDA event coordinator Jennifer Krouse.

Chairwoman Courtney Price suggested getting a business to sponsor free popcorn or cotton candy, while Kaufman said other towns had brought out inflatable slides. Board member Peggy Shanahan thought it was a good idea to do something every month, but doing something different — slides one month, cotton candy the next, pony rides or a petting zoo the next.

Krouse said the hangup is finding business sponsors. The DDA doesn't have the resources to pay for it in-house.

The board also established a First Friday subcommittee to hash out this and other issues, as well as food truck participation and parking, outside regular meetings.