By Trent Moore
The Cullman Times
CULLMAN —
With chit-chat about college football in-between cuts, the temporary home of East Side Barber Shop felt almost like the old location Wednesday afternoon — aside from the fact that it is now hosted on Main Avenue in a rented store-front, of course.
Owner Bo Waldrop hopes to get things back to normal soon, as construction is now underway on his new building on Fifth Street SE beside the Busy Bee Cafe. The original location — where Waldrop has done business for more than 46 years — was destroyed by the April 27 tornado that erased virtually every building in that two block radius.
Waldrop is among the first business owners to start rebuilding in what officials have dubbed the “ground zero” zone, between First Avenue SE and Third Avenue SE on Fifth Street.
“We’re getting it going and it’s coming up quick,” Waldrop said. “It should be a lot better than my old place. I’m anxious to get back over there.”
To encourage business owners to return and expand in damaged areas, the Cullman city council is piloting a facade incentive program, offering matching grants for construction.
“We as a council saw the benefits of pulling $240,000 for these grants from the budget to put back in to help our local businesses,” city council president Garlan Gudger, Jr. said.
Following the tornado, the city created a design review committee to oversee rebuilding and manage the grant program. In the few months applications have been accepted, the program has proven to be a popular one. Approximately 25 applications are complete to this point, with 13 pending.
Estimates indicate business owners are already planning to invest nearly $4 million back in to the community, creating more than 70 jobs.
“The process is going good and the feedback has been positive,” Cullman Economic Development retail recruiter Susie Hood said. “The applications have slowed a bit at this point, but we feel like we should hit about 30 by the end of the year.”
Looking back toward Fifth Street, city officials hope to use the rebuilt blocks as a template for downtown, with an underground infrastructure plan already in the works. Electrical, cable, phone and other lines should all be installed underground in those blocks once work is eventually complete.
The city council is even planning to use different signalization at those intersections, which should match the underground utility aesthetic. A request to go out to bid for two long arm traffic lights — similar to those at the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 31 and U.S. Hwy. 278 — has already been approved. The signalization project is estimated to cost $157,000.
* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.
