Restoration after fire will expand second story
WASHINGTON — The Greiner Plaza fire in November rattled many members of the community, whether they were residents who fondly remembered the former library, or employees of businesses displaced from the office space on Main Street.
The Greiner Family, understandably, took the loss hard.
“For us, going to that building every day and taking care of it and interacting with the tenants, that was a huge part of our lives that’s been really altered lately,” Greiner Buildings CEO Matt Greiner said, during an interview at the company’s current rented office on North Iowa Avenue. “As fortunate and blessed as we are to have this building … it’s not what we had.”
Greiner said the wait for repairs had been maddening.
“I’m anxious because I wanted to be started by now, and the process just takes more time,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of work that doesn’t show, but I want the plastic off the roof. I want the burnt pieces out, and I want to see new lumber … plus, the amount of money involved, it can get you a little jittery if you let it. So I think we just have to be strong and kind of lean on each other.”
With repair work set to begin soon, the Greiners said they hoped to have the building open by the start of next year, although that timeline is tentative.
“It’s going to be a big project, and we’re going to push to get it done as soon as possible,” Matt Greiner said. “I hope we can start seeing something that looks like a finished project by Christmas. We don’t really know what to expect until we start digging into it further.”
Office Manager Ashley Greiner said the business would prioritize getting its tenants moved in first.
She said she was enthusiastic about the project, whatever its completion date might be.
“It is pretty exciting to be at this point now that we finally have (a) projection of something that’s going to start soon,” she said. “And I’m excited to be bringing the building back to life again.”
As crews prepare to start the rebuild, the company has big plans in the works, which go beyond the needed drywall replacement and new roof: Greiner said the finished product would have new offices and storage space on the second story which would change the look of the building.
“It was heavily recommended by the architect that we should consider this,” he said. “In his words, the building was, ‘Begging to be two stories,’ … we thought that it looked nice, we saw what the benefits of that could be for the community and for our business.”
That addition is funded through a Main Street DIG Grant, while the repairs themselves come out of insurance and pocket.
Main Street Washington Executive Director Samantha Meyer said the $50,000 grant had major symbolic value, in addition to its buying power.
“They didn’t have to (rebuild,) they could have taken insurance money and gone somewhere else,” she said. “We wanted to make sure that they knew they were still wanted downtown, and they did such a beautiful job with the original, and we can’t wait to see what they’ll do.”
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