Developers are looking to convert the historic Glastonbury Knitting Co. building near the Manchester Green into a 24-unit senior-housing complex.
Peter Bonzani, a prominent developer in town who owns Hilliard Mills LLC, which redevelops derelict historical buildings, and two partners have asked the Planning and Zoning Commission to allow them to alter the historic facility and develop in a wetland area at 501 East Middle Turnpike.
The town’s zoning commission previously modified regulations in the area, housing the Manchester Senior Citizens Center, to permit historical mill conversions. However, the developers still need their own special exception permit at the location where East Middle Turnpike, Woodbridge Street and East Center Street intersect.
Similar approvals for historical conversions have also been granted for the Cheney mills in town.
The commission is set to discuss the applications after a public hearing on Monday at 7 p.m.
According to plans, the developers would build 24 units for elderly housing at the 32,410-square-foot site, which they acquired for $152,000 in Jan. 2018.
The building would include a mix of 18 one-bedroom units and six, two-bedroom units split across three floors.
Three portions of the building, added onto the original structure, would be demolished and seven garage bays on the east side of the building would be added. An entrance on the southwest end of the building will also be reconfigured.
An outdoor amenity space would include a staircase, concrete patio, walkways and exposure to the Bigelow Brook, which powered the former mill. A parking lot with 31 spaces is also proposed.
It would also include an office, activities and fitness rooms, and other storage areas.
Built in 1851, the former mill is recognizable by the four-story tower standing above the white-and-brick building.
The facility has had numerous tenants over the years, formerly housing a bookstore, furniture stores, bar, drug store and antique store.
The mill closed in the 1920s, and was later sold in 1981 for $180,000 and again in 2014 for $1.9 million, town records show.
Bonzani, a Bolton resident, has also partnered in redeveloping the Manchester Armory at 330 Main St. into a commercial building for office space and other business space in three buildings at Hilliard Mills, at 640-642 Hilliard Street.
