This artist's rendering of the L.A. Jennings Building shows what the downtown structure could look like once a proposed renovation project is completed. The buidling would include an Irish pub, a pizza restaurant, a coffee house and a burger restaurant. (Photo provided)
A California developer says he can spark a rebirth of New Castle's downtown when he renovates a historic building.
Ray Willey, CEO of Historic Properties Inc., wants to turn the once-endangered L.A. Jennings Building into a major draw that will attract people and businesses downtown. He's proposing a $5.3 million project to bring four restaurants, professional office spaces and 115 jobs to the building.
He has plans to put an Irish pub, a pizza restaurant, a gourmet coffee cafe and a burger eatery in the building and already has three of them lined up.
If the New Castle Redevelopment Commission, which owns the historic building, says yes. Willey plans to also make an offer on the Broad Street building that once housed Durham's Ristorante. He's in talks with a Sacramento, Calif., Italian eatery that is willing to open a new restaurant there.
The deal hinges on a $1.7 million contribution from the city commission that spends property tax money earmarked for economic development. The money does not include the contribution of the building, valued at $600,000.
If the RDC hands over the cash and the building, the national company will supply the other $3 million for a mass-scale construction project.
"I think what would be best for the community would be to take that building and do a dramatic renovation, and establish these four exciting retail entities," Willey said, "to try to use that as leverage for rebirth and to attract people to the downtown."
One option for funding could be taking out a loan and repaying it with the earmarked property tax money, said Jason Semler, the city's bond council from H.J. Umbaugh and Associates. State law puts restrictions on city money that could be used, but the City Council could decide to pay for a supporting project, such as tearing down downtown buildings and paving parking lots.
On Friday, commission members charged Semler with researching whether the project is feasible and asked him to make a recommendation in November.
Sandy York, commission member and city councilwoman, said after Willey's presentation that the project brought to life what she'd envisioned for the Jennings Building. She's excited about the possibility but wants to make sure the RDC can finance it.
"Downtown is my pet project," she said. "This is exactly what I was looking for. That, and maybe a little bit more."
Historic Properties, a private real estate development company based in Norcross, Ga., focuses on buying and renovating government-owned properties around the nation. It has a wide-ranging reference council that includes actor and singer Pat Boone and actors Mickey and Jan Rooney.
In three decades, Willey and his business partners from the construction industry have completed 54 projects in states including California, Virginia and New York. Their goal is restoring and saving old buildings, Willey said.
Willey was introduced to the Jennings Building by Wayne Goodman, former director of the Indiana Landmarks Eastern Regional Office. He'd known Goodman through different projects, but when he saw the Jennings Building, he was immediately interested.
"The building is a spectacular treasure that we felt should be saved," he said. "We were seeking to find a creative way to do that."
The building that was once a New Castle business location had been vacant for years and had begun to deteriorate. Then in 2008, courts named Indiana Landmarks as the building receiver, and the organization made improvements to the building. Then in 2010, the RDC pursued foreclosure, and eventually the property went to a sheriff's sale.
Since the RDC became the owner earlier this year, it has heard one other proposal on developing the building into an apartment complex.
In the meantime, Willey has visited New Castle multiple times over the last few years and he said he fell in love with the community. He and his business partners were concerned about the numerous vacant buildings that peppered the downtown and wanted to find a way to do something about it.
His idea was to line up retailers to operate in the Jennings Building before he started a large-scale renovation on all of the building's floors.
On Friday, Willey presented a plan to bring four restaurants to the building's first floor and basement. Three of restaurants are successful West Coast chains, and one is a stand-alone, 30-year-old establishment. Of the four restaurants, three have already committed to open in the Jennings Building, he said.
He'd renovate the top two floors for office spaces and rent them to businesses, though he said he'll likely have a hard time finding tenants.
One sticking point on the project is parking. The downtown doesn't have enough space to accommodate the traffic Willey says he'll draw to the restaurants.
He suggested that the city buy and tear down some of the adjacent buildings and turn the properties into parking lots.
Willey also sees the former Durham's Ristorante building as part of the project, but he's not asking for city money to develop it. He's eaten at the restaurant when he visited New Castle in the past, and when he heard it was on the market, he wanted to see it reopened.
He has not made an offer but expects to do so if the RDC approves the Jennings Building project.
Jeana Davis, the city's director of public works, said she'll work with Semler to find ways that the RDC can piece together funding for the project. She doesn't want to get excited until all the papers are signed but said this idea fits what the community has said it's looking for. The next step is to research how the commission can come up with the cash to pay for it.
"I think it will take some creativity and some smart-minded individuals to develop a plan," she said.
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