The Manchester City Center Investment Fund Loan Program was established a few years ago to encourage the revitalization of Main Street storefronts and buildings between Center Street and Hartford Road. The initiative provides zero-interest loans to property owners to modernize buildings and bring them into compliance with code and modern safety and accessibility standards.

Soverns and his business partner bought the property in June and plan to revitalize the building with a restaurant on the first floor and eight market-priced apartments on the second and third floors. At last week’s meeting, Soverns said they would submit plans to the city’s construction department soon and when construction begins they expect renovations to take around a year. Soverns said they wanted to make the property a “must see” on Main Street.

“We want to do something that really transforms the building,” Soverns said last week. “We think this loan will really help us close that cost gap. “

Gary Anderson, the city’s director of planning and economic development, said the building needed some upgrades, like updated facilities, to be up to code.

“This is exactly the intention of this loan program that we have established, to help people who are considering transformational projects that would really make a big difference, not only to the building itself but to the downtown area.” , Anderson said.

Anderson said the loan is conditional on homeowners developing a code review to make sure it meets local standards. He said they are currently in the middle of this process.

Lack of parking and space for garbage cans is also an issue on the property, so Anderson said owners will be showing up to local councils in the coming months to try and come up with ideas on how to rectify this.

This is the second time that the committee has approved a loan under the Manchester City Center Investment Fund loan scheme.

In 2019, the committee voted to approve the program’s first zero-interest loan to Sophia Dzialo, owner of the Firestone Art Studio + Café in the former Pinewood Furniture building at 1115 Main St. Since loan approval, Dzialo has renovated the building for meets its needs and has already opened and partially enlarged.

When the loan program was established it started with a total of $ 750,000. With $ 200,000 for Firestone and $ 200,000 planned for this second property, $ 350,000 remains for future loans.