A historic town in Orange County is feeling the aftermath of not one, but, now two major fires.
Earlier this year a couple bought the historic building where the Paradise Pizza & Deli sits in downtown Orleans. The building caught fire a couple weeks ago, and an investigation is pending.
The cause and amount of damage won't be known until it wraps up. The devastating blaze comes just a few months after another fire destroyed a historic home.
Paradise Pizza is located in a historic district established in 2009 on the town square, and the fire came at the worst possible time. The small town is starting a façade grant program aimed at improving downtown. It allows shops and the city to share the cost of improvements.
"They'll be putting a little money into that then they would be awarded some money to do some work to their store fronts, if they wanted to put new awnings up, if they wanted to do tuck-pointing, if they wanted to work on signage or painting," says Robert Henderson, Clerk Treasurer.
The fire impacted surrounding business as well, leaving owners concerned about their properties. However, the extent of the overall damage is unknown.
"The central business district is still very important to the town of Orleans...a great deal of money has been spent on the streetscape.
"Time will tell, but the central business district is still very important to the town of Orleans and as far as an economic development and a great deal of money has been spent on the streetscape," Henderson says.
The application process for the façade program is set to begin in the fall and Henderson says they hope to see actual renovations start in the spring. $100,000 is guaranteed from the town's community partner Radius Indiana, but there's a chance more money could eventually be requested.
Plans for the grant program will develop as the pizza shop's fate becomes clearer.
The town hopes the pizza shop can be saved, but won't know until the investigation is complete.
"That's the devastating part is that those of us who have grown up here and spent our lives in this small town, this has been home, and to see those land marks of our lives destroyed is always a very sad thing for all of us," Henderson says.
