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City Council to vote tonight on OK'ing tax relief for downtown project

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If the project moves forward, the former bank at 22 South Main St. will be turned in to a restaurant with apartments on the second floor. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - The City Council will vote tonight on whether to grant community-revitalization tax relief to a local developer who want to turn a former bank located at 22 South Main St. into a ground floor restaurants with several apartments on the second floor.

The 79-E proposal is being sought by developer Norm Vetter, who is looking to purchase the building and invest nearly $1.5 million in its renovation which will result in a restaurant as well as a half-dozen apartments.

The tax incentive can be allowed for anywhere between five and 15 years, City Manager Blaine Cox said recently. Vetter is seeking 11 years of relief, which would allow the building to be taxed at its current rate for that amount of time instead of at a higher rate based on the improvement he plans to make.

In all three new downtown restaurants are in the planning stages, kindling hope that a downtown renaissance could be in the offing.

The 12,000-square-foot 1850s-era Romanesque-style structure with its distinct Corinthian columns - formerly the Norway Plains Savings Bank - is expected to include six apartments including a mix of efficiencies, one- and two-bedroom units that will range in price from $925-$1,181 a month, Vetter said in plans submitted to the city.

Only one resident voiced opposition to the plan at a public hearing two weeks ago, saying it was making taxpayers foot the bill instead of using private money.

Meawnhile, Cox said City Council members and the general public have in large part voiced support for the project.

More good news about the downtown came on Aug. 3 when Bob Benoit of Gonic, who operates Mitchell Hill BBQ, announced on his personal Facebook page that he would be opening a restaurant in the former Mel Flanagan's Irish Pub space on North Main Street.

Benoit has been running a barbecue catering business for some time, but this is his first move to a fixed location. He expects to open this fall.

Earlier this month the Rochester Opera House and Rochester Performance and Arts Center announced they were renting the North Main Street building that housed the former Rochester Recovery Center. The building sits behind and just south of Rochester District Court, and will be used for youth theater and arts programs.

And plans are also in the works for another opening of a mixed use building in the North Main Street Hartigan Block, which was built in 1901 and is directly across the street from the courthouse.

The building will also include a restaurant on the ground floor and apartments above.

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