CRESTVIEW — Renovation of a 1920s Main Street commercial building temporarily halted upon the discovery of cracks in the building's façade and foundation.
Cracks in the three-course-thick brickwork were discovered as workers stripped 1970s vinyl siding from a building on Main Street’s 200 block that houses Brad Stewart’s law offices.
"There's a pretty prominent crack in the front of the building," Stewart said. "The corner is actually slightly tilted. We needed to engage an engineer for structural soundness."
Stewart said the engineer did not find foundation or structural problems and approved the project to continue, but the work’s scope expanded to repair the cracks, moving the expected completion date later than planned.
The building’s Main Street face will receive "age-specific" brick, while the alley façade likely will have a mural depicting the building when it was new, Stewart said.
Meeting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board, the Crestview City Council unanimously approved Stewart's request for an extension to façade improvement work on the historic building. He had received a $9,000 grant from the CRA for the restoration project.
Under CRA rules, businesses that receive façade improvement grants — which can be as much as $10,000 — have six months to complete the approved work.
Praising Stewart’s efforts toward preserving Crestview's historic downtown, the board unanimously approved his request for an extension.
Stewart said the work would end within the extended period, and said he would preserve a "butterfly door" uncovered on the building's north side.
The door features a 1960s butterfly motif and was preserved beneath the vinyl siding. It will become an interior door, Stewart said.
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview CRA board approves 1920s building renovation extension