Lorraine DiDomenico and Jack Hutterer were honored by city council for their efforts to renovate their building at the corner of Main and Penn. “We always wanted to have pride in ownership,” DiDomenico said.

Lorraine DiDomenico has always been fond of her building at the corner of Main and Penn streets in Butler.

So when DiDomenico and her real estate partner, Jack Hutterer, vacated the building and merged with Northwood Realty Services in the early 2000s, they didn't want to see the property sit empty.

“We always wanted to have pride in ownership,” DiDomenico said.

DiDomenico and Hutterer were recognized for their care with the city's Neighborhood Pride Award in May for renovations to their building.

Turning the property into what it is today has been a long process.

In the early 2000s, DiDomenico was struck with an idea during a trip to Harrisburg when a friend showed her a Victorian building with shops.

“I thought to myself, 'Lorraine, you've got to do something with your building,'” she said.

A grant from the city helped with initial renovations, which included new windows and awnings, painting the exterior and installing a new roof.

Today, a hair and makeup boutique called Caviar and Curls rents a space. Its owner is Sara DiDomenico, who is Lorraine DiDomenico's daughter-in-law. She travels to provide hair-styling and makeup service to bridal parties.

There's also Bling & Things, which is owned by DiDomenico and sells jewelry and various accessories.

The Sage Collector, a nonprofit organization that provides foster- and at-risk youth with free clothing and opportunities with community programs, is located on the second floor next to Sarah Wagner's counseling business.

However, most prominently featured is the Saxonburg Coffee Company, which sits in the front two rooms.

DiDomenico said she was approached by Saxonburg Coffee Company in 2015, and after months of renovations the shop opened in June 2016.Tables, chairs, coffee equipment and a coffee bar were added, and seating was put in place on the front porch.Even with all the renovations, plus a parking lot, the building has managed to maintain its authentic Victorian feel, including the original floorboards.“Just the fact that it's Victorian, we try to do the plants, we try to make the porch available, we put the lighting up,” DiDomenico said. “We just try to keep it authentic by keeping it painted and doing what we're supposed to do.”The owners' attention to detail led to the Neighborhood Pride Award, which caught DiDomenico by surprise.“I was happy,” she said. “I knew that we took care of the building, but getting the award made it really special.”The award, initially the brainchild by former city councilman Rick Schontz, was brought back by councilman Kenny Bonus in September after he was told about it by city clerk Mindy Gall.“It struck me as something that we need to continually keep up, just because we want to honor people in the community who have done something to better their neighborhood and property,” Bonus said.The idea has caught on; Bonus said previous winners from Schontz's time on council keep their Neighborhood Pride Award signs up in their yards.Bonus said that after a property on West Penn Street was given the award, he noticed people who moved into the neighborhood began improving their home.“You can't necessarily say it's correlated for sure, but it helps to have such a nice house on that block and you encourage people to come in and renovate a house,” Bonus said.DiDomenico also believes the award can have a positive impact.“It would entice other entrepreneurs to do the same to keep up,” she said. “You always want to make your city nice and bright.”