A long vacant downtown building could be open for business again by the end of summer with the adoption Wednesday of a developer’s agreement between the city and an investment group looking to breathe new life into the property.
Todd Schultz, representing the investment group, told the Shawano Common Council the time line will depend on securing tenants for the building at 153 S. Main St. He said meetings with potential tenants have already begun.
The property was purchased in 2001 by the Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology and languished vacant for years. The building was put into receivership last year to help pay the debts of another SIST subsidiary.
The investment group, which incorporated for the project as 153 SMS, LLC, after the building’s address, purchased the property last month.
The developer’s agreement calls for 153 SMS to get a $140,000 low-interest, 10-year loan from the city to begin work on what will be a major renovation of the interior. The group will then get a $60,000 grant from tax incremental finance district funds once the property is ready for occupancy.
As currently proposed, the upstairs portion of the building would likely be office space, while the main floor could encompass multiple businesses in an “open-concept, shared business space,” Schultz said.
He said the idea would be for new start-ups to eventually outgrow the space and move into a permanent location elsewhere in the city and open up room for a new entrepreneur to take that space.
City Administrator Brian Knapp said it was an exciting project for the city.
“I think it’s an opportunity to demonstrate what can be done on Main Street with an old building that’s been vacant and unused for many years,” he said.
Knapp said the investment group plans to spend nearly $600,000 in acquiring, updating and remodeling the property.
However, Knapp said, the property is likely to be assessed for tax purposes at about $400,000.
Because the investors would not be able to get commercial financing for more than the property is worth, the city is stepping in to bridge the gap, Knapp said.
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