The owners of a long-vacant commercial building on Main Street are planning to convert its second floor from offices to apartments, according to a new application on file with the town.
The “bank” building at 87 Main St. — a prominent 1911-built brick structure that used to house the Indian restaurant Thali — would see its cathedral ceiling filled in order to convert the second floor into four one-bedroom apartments, according to a letter to the Planning & Zoning Commission dated Sept. 12.
“The project will also include adding an elevator within the existing footprint that will access both floors including a new street level access door located at the southeast corner of the building,” according to the letter from architect James Schettino. “The only exterior changes will include a new door and window on the South Elevation as well as new windows within the existing 2-story masonry openings along the North Elevation.”
The building has been vacant since November 2015. Weeks before the pandemic, the town received an application for a Japanese restaurant to be installed there but it never materialized. The building and .14-acre property sold in May 2023 for $2,450,000. The new owner is a limited liability company whose owners are New Canaan residents, according to Connecticut Secretary of the State records.
In May, Schettino emailed Fire Marshal Paul Payne regarding the project. The downstairs “will stay commercial” and the property owner “is looking at potential for 1 or possibly 2 restaurants,” Schettino said in the email, obtained by NewCanaanite.com through public records request.
The owners are seeking approval for a site plan application to move forward with the conversion of the second floor to residences. Under the New Canaan Zoning Regulations, a number of conditions must be met in order to obtain approval (see page 205 here). Schettino addresses those conditions in his application letter to P&Z. It says that no changes will be made to the existing building other than a new doorway and windows, parking facilities, signage or trash receptacles.
P&Z is expected to take up the site plan application at its Sept. 24 meeting.