A developer has proposed an adaptive-reuse project at the site of a 145-year-old former bottling plant in Wethersfield, which abuts the town’s historic district.
Plans include renovating the 21,150-square-foot brick building at 207 Church St. for three tenants – a shared office, cafe and bar, and a live performance venue.
The project application was submitted by Stafford Springs-based general contractor Commercial Development Services Group, but the development is the vision of New York developer and landlord Solomon Vegh, who bought 207 Church St. for $1.37 million in May 2024.
The Planning and Zoning Commission has opened a public hearing on the application, which is scheduled to go before the Inland Wetlands Commission on June 4. The Planning and Zoning Commission’s hearing has been continued to June 17.
According to plans submitted to the town, the cafe would serve breakfast pastries and grab-and-go sandwiches from local bakeries. It would not have a full indoor kitchen and would use an outdoor mobile kitchen.
The cafe would operate from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and would transform into a bar from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The performance venue would be open until 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The office space would be staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with 24/7 secure access provided.
The developer plans to restore the brick facade, replace existing windows and doors, add a three-story elevator and redesign the parking lot, along with adding landscaping, signage and an outdoor seating patio for the food tenant.
The building, constructed around 1880, served as a bottling plant for about 100 years, then was converted into an auction house.
It is currently being reviewed for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, according to the application.
In 2020, a contractor’s yard to support MDC’s sewer replacement program was proposed on the property. Before that, a mixed-use development that involved partially demolishing the existing building and adding office space and multifamily residential units was proposed in 2017.
The proposed contractor’s yard was denied and the multi-family development was withdrawn.
