COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Coldwater Downtown Development Authority Board agreed on Wednesday morning to continue efforts that they hope would lead to the Children’s Museum of Branch County moving back downtown to the former Taylor’s Stationers building at 60 West Chicago Street.
They decided to ask the Coldwater City Council for a loan of up to $350,000 from the City’s General Fund to help fund renovations to the building which is owned by the D.D.A..
As part of a power point presentation on restoration plans, Lisa Miller from the Branch County Economic Growth Alliance detailed how the loan would be repaid.
She said the tenant rent would cover the costs of the interior improvements and awnings.
Miller said the museum would see a lot more traffic downtown.
The Children’s Museum of Branch County has been at the Fairfield Plaza on Marshall Street since June 2017. But the plaza has seen less traffic since the Family Fare store closed last May.
The museum opened in downtown Coldwater during the 2014 Strawberry Fest, but officials were forced to find a new home after the building they were in at 53 West Chicago was sold.
The Taylor’s building has been empty since the spring of 2016 when Taylor’s Stationers owners Howard and Lola Taylor retired after 44 years of business.
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