Plans have changed from apartments to condos for new construction at 207 and 209 E. Main Street.

“We are excited about the project,” said Investment Partners stakeholder Bobby Kirby, who applied for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from the McMinnville Historic Zoning Commission. “Our design standards meet all the historical guidelines.”

Because the property lies in the Historic Zoning District, a COA is required to approve the building’s appearance and the material used to construct it. It will be a two-story building, brick, two storefronts on the main level, three condos on the second level, and rooftop patios for the owners of the condos.

Initially, the group’s plan included apartments. In terms of physical attributes, there is nothing different between apartments and condos. The difference stems from ownership. Apartments are rented, and condos are sold.

Investment Partners purchased the properties from the city of McMinnville with the verbal stipulation the group would be applying for the McMinnville Downtown Revenue Finance Corporation’s PILOT program, a tax freeze for a pre-determined number of years, and denial could jeopardize the project.

The change to condos has jeopardized inclusion in the PILOT program, which only allows approved applicants to rent spaces and not sell them, says Kirby.