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88 Main
rehab
begins
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- As the scaffolding rises around the front of 88 Main, so does the anticipation for a kickstart to the revitalization of Putnam.
Languishing more than a decade in the center of downtown Putnam, with broken windows and a beat-down facade, the building has experienced fits and starts to its renaissance. Dexter Properties LLC purchased the building in October 2009. Bruce Dexter II is looking forward to putting in a restaurant, retail space and, on the top two floors, a boutique hotel.
Rose Construction of Pomfret, which does residential and commercial construction, was the lowest qualified bidder for the facade/construction project, according to Delpha Very , Economic and Community Development director. That bid was $359,000.
The town got permission from the Special Service District, she said, to put safety fencing on the outer edge of the sidewalk. That went up April 18 and the scaffolding has followed. Very said that the project should take four or five months.
The project will include removing the brick veneer and windows. As layers are removed, she said, the structural soundness of any underlying layer will be checked and corrected/replaced if needed. All the trim will be brought back, using composite. The plans call for dark green vinyl-clad trim. In addition the roof will be replaced.
A state Urban Action grant of $400,000 will go toward the Rose Construction renovation costs. Some of that funding was already used for civil and structural engineering for the project. The grant money must be used in the next year.
Once the renovations are finished by Rose Construction, Very said, Dexter will then be responsible for doing the buildout.
"With the blight ordinance passing unanimously recently," she said, the town and the town leadership is "sending a clear message that we'd like to get buildings back to use. We're going toward growth," she added.
Very said, "This project is one of the most anticipated for decades in downtown Putnam. It aligns magnificently with our mission of continued revitalization of the community."