Drawings added: Main Street fish market and garage to become offices, housing
A stretch of Main Street that includes an old fish market and vehicle repair shop will be getting a face lift, and possibly a little help from the Community & Economic Development Authority (CEDA).
Developer Michael Fitzgerald is looking to renovate 367 Main Street, the former location of Dawson Seafood, and 377 to 379 Main Street, the old Franconia Fuel Company, into business offices and five or six one- or two-bedroom affordable apartments.
The project is eligible for mixed-use grant funding through CEDA. Fitzgerald is looking for a 15-year deferred loan, which would be forgiven if he adheres to affordable housing requirements for the duration of the loan.
"We're very interested in assisting Mr. Fitzgerald as he moves forward with this project," said Jean Connaughton, chair of the CEDA board, during a presentation to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday.
The project is part of a two-acre parcel that begins with the fish market, and continues to the property line of the former Majestic Mattress building. Fitzgerald has plans for each building in the parcel, Connaughton said.
The project tacks on to one end of downtown improvements slated to begin next spring as the first phase of CEDA's Downtown Design project, which includes the Fire Department to Center Street.
The Selectmen expressed excitement about the project, which would dress up an area of town seen immediately from the intersection of Route 6 and Main Street.
"To get this kind of project in there, and to get life in that area, not only benefits the town, it makes it look good as you enter the town," said Selectman Steve Holmes.
Holmes said he was hearing complaints from people living across the Wareham River, once workers began cutting trees down from the rear of the buildings, exposing the extent of their dilapidation.
"The whole back of that property was just a nightmare," Holmes said. "It'll be beautiful again."