Votaw building owner, RDA split costs on facade improvement
One of downtown Morgan Hill’s original buildings is being given a facelift, thanks to building owner Rafael Garcia and city Redevelopment Agency funding.
Preparation work for the painting has begun on the Votaw building, located at the northeast corner of Second Street and Monterey Road.
The two-story structure, built in 1905, currently houses the Second Street Coffee Exchange, Morgan Hill Dance Studio, Tutta Bella salon, Piccolo restaurant and The Healing Touch massage on the ground floor. Upstairs are El Toro Body Shop and Fitness Formula.
The building was named after a prominent early Morgan Hill family, the Votaws.
Garcia said the facade improvement, which is mostly a fresh coat of paint and a new awning, plus some patch work, will cost $10,250. Redevelopment Agency (RDA) funds will pay half.
“I think that’s very good,” he said. “That helps me to get it done. And it is something that needed to be done. The last time (it was painted) was seven or eight years ago. I was looking at two of the columns, and thought maybe it would be a good time to paint it again, to make it look good again.”
This type of improvement is something the Morgan Hill Downtown Association (MHDA) is working to promote, along with the City of Morgan Hill.
Association Executive Director Dan Craig said that when buildings downtown are improved, and Morgan Hill residents spend more time downtown as a result, all of downtown benefits.
The city treasury will also benefit, as the city gets a share of sales tax revenue.
“The new paint and awning on the Votaw building is an excellent example of public private partnerships that are essential to transforming downtowns,” Craig said. “Morgan Hill is fortunate to have a property owner that recognizes the historic significance of his building and has gone to great lengths to select colors that accentuate its landmark value to the community. We hope this project inspires other building owners to follow suit.”
The MHDA worked with the City of Morgan Hill to create a plan for the growth and development of the downtown. Facade improvement was a part of that plan.
Garcia, who lives in Redwood City, said the inspiration for his color scheme, which includes rustic red, dark green, mocha and ivory créme, came from a trip to San Francisco.
“I went to San Francisco and took some pictures of the old buildings,” he said. “I got this idea from the pictures. I have been working with Dan Craig to get all this together, and I finally got samples here and I kind of like it.”
The building needed a lot of restoration when he purchased it 12 or 13 years ago, Garcia said. Now he wants to maintain it and make it an attractive piece of the downtown.
“We just redid the coffee shop two months ago,” he said. “I want it to be a nice building, and I want to keep my tenants happy so they stay in the building … I think if my tenants stay, it is also good for the downtown. We can all work together on the downtown.”
nstalled to insure that the walls did not move outward.
The Votaw building was built by E.J. and M.C. Votaw of Oklahoma after they were assured by civic leaders that the town would be incorporated.
Architects Merrill and Bussing designed the building on the former site of Woodard’s, one of Morgan Hill’s first general stores.
The Votaw Building was built to house the Bank of Morgan Hill. Included in the construction was a vault built of railroad rails and concrete. Later, a crew gave up on removing the vault when they were remodeling the building to house Al Statti’s Corner Drug store.
The Votaws left Morgan Hill in 1909 to invest in land in Mexico and the Bank of Morgan Hill continued under the presidencies of Claude Stark and C.F. Drewry until 1927.
The bank was purchased by the Bank of Italy, which became the Bank of America in 1930.
The north half of the first floor of the building facing Monterey Street, began as the Morgan Hill Mercantile Co., becoming Blotckey’s in 1911 and finally Johnson’s Drugs in 1923.
The entire second floor was usually professional offices, but during World War II, the entire floor was taken over by the Red Cross.
In the early 1950s, the Bank of America relocated and the building was occupied by South County Realty until the 1984 earthquake.
The second floor of the building was used for Morgan Hill School District offices for a number of years.
