Free City Loan for Seismic Work OKd : Safety: Fullerton restaurant obtains $59,820 to upgrade structure. Funds must be repaid over a period of years.
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FULLERTON — The City Council this week approved a loan of $59,820 to Rutabegorz Restaurant to pay for a required seismic upgrading.
Under the city’s Owner Participation Agreement, which is part of the Seismic Rehabilitation Loan Program, loans are made to owners of unreinforced masonry buildings. As a result, restaurant owner Paul Berkman was eligible to receive a one-time, $25,000 maximum deferred loan plus 50% of the total cost above $25,000, said Terry Galvin, redevelopment manager.
Galvin said the $25,000 loan must be paid back when the property is sold. The 50% loan must be paid within a 10-year period, two years after upgrading is complete. Both loans carry no interest.
Depending on the use of the building--public use or storage facility--Galvin said property owners have two to three years to upgrade their structures. Notices of the upgrade requirement were sent out by the Development Services Department in February.
Rutabegorz Restaurant is the second firm to take advantage of the loan program, Galvin said, adding that most loans would probably not exceed $25,000.
About 100 buildings could be eligible for the loan, he said, with the majority of the buildings located in the downtown Fullerton area.
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