While the work addresses multiple buildings, it is all part of one effort to restore the facades of historic downtown buildings. A $500,000 state grant is helping to pay for it.

“The goal is to basically bring back the facades of the downtown,” said Terry Allers, the principal architect and owner of Allers Associates Architects, of Fort Dodge. That firm designed all the facade restorations being completed in this project.

The work is being done on eight storefronts of six buildings, according to Cole Benton, an associate architect and project coordinator for the firm.

All six buildings are in the downtown Fort Dodge historic district, which means there are certain regulations the project must comply with.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
White plastic sheeting covers the front of the building at 710 Central Ave. as a facade restoration project progresses. Wood siding was removed from the building’s first floor. Longtime residents of Fort Dodge likely recall this structure as home to a bar called The Hayloft.

Allers said the architects looked at lots of old photos of the buildings as they designed the project.

Here is a summary of the work that is underway or planned.

700-702 Central Ave.

This building sits on the northeast side of the intersection of Central Avenue and Seventh Street. The Card Collective Hobby Shop is on the first floor and there are apartments on the second floor.

“This one is a real challenge,” Benton said.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
New windows have been installed on this building at 814 First Ave. S. and new paneling awaits its first coat of paint. When all the work is done, this building, constructed in 1896, will have a distinctive two-tone color scheme on its facade.

The challenge, he said, is that the facade is made of sandstone, which is crumbling in multiple spots. Some of that sandstone is being replaced with new material, he said. When the sandstone repair and replacement is done, the building will be repainted.

New glass will be installed in the storefront windows on Central Avenue. New windows will be installed on the second floor on both the Central Avenue and Seventh Street sides.

The building was constructed in 1880.

710 Central Ave.

This building was the home of The Hayloft for many years.

All the wood has been removed from the first floor of the front of the building. New windows will be installed. Stucco will be removed from the side of the building that faces an alley that was converted to a pedestrian walkway.

On the ground right outside the front door are ceramic tiles that spell “Cigars,” a likely indication that the building, constructed in 1880, was once a cigar store. Those tiles will be preserved.

801 Central Ave.

This is the seven-story Snell Building at the corner of Central Avenue and Eighth Street. The facade project will only address the building’s first level.

The steel canopy on the building’s front will be removed. One vertical column on the Central Avenue side will be restored. New storefront windows will be installed and new windows will be placed on the Eighth Street side in spots that were previously window frames but have been bricked up.

The Snell Building was constructed in 1915, during a downtown building boom.

911 Central Ave.

This building was the home of Olson Jewelers for many years. It is now the Fort Dodge office of Ankeny-based Snyder & Associates, an engineering firm. The metal has been removed from the front of the building, and the brickwork is being repaired.

814 First Ave. S.

The wood has been removed from the front of this building, constructed in 1896.

New windows and canopies will be installed. When all the work is done, this building will have a distinctive two-tone color scheme on its facade.

Work on all the buildings is to be done by July 31. Shyft Collective, of Des Moines, is the general contractor. It has a $771,817 contract.

In October 2021, a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant was awarded to the city government and Main Street Fort Dodge for this effort.

The city government is contributing $250,000.

Property owners participating in the project will collectively contribute another $250,000.

A previous Community Development Block Grant awarded in about 2019 helped pay for a facade improvement project on the east end of downtown.