Business as un-usual: Despite uncertainties, commercial projects move ahead

August 29, 2020  |  By Indigo Glaza | Community News Service

This summer, commercial development in Waterbury pushes forward despite setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the last six months projects started before COVID-19’s arrival have resumed and pressed on while others are steadily making their way through the local permit process.  Even business owners dealing with impacts of the pandemic have not shelved all of their future plans.

“They are struggling but surviving,” said Steve Lotspeich, Waterbury’s community planner. Lotspeich sees the pace of new permits in the last six months as a positive long-term indicator for the local economy. “It’s a good sign. I think it’s a sign that people are planning for the future,” he said.

Here are updates on several commercial projects moving forward this summer despite setbacks from the pandemic and an uncertain economic future that might await them when they are completed. 

New range is in sight

Henry Parro says work will begin as soon as this week on his new shooting range, training center and retail store just west on U.S. 2 from Parro's Gun Shop. Photo by Gordon Miller.

Site work began earlier this summer on the nearly 2-acre parcel along U.S. Route 2 where Parro’s Gun Shop will expand to become the first commercial indoor shooting range in Vermont. 

The range itself is planned to be around 7,000 square feet with 10 lanes, each 25 yards long. This new space will accommodate 20 people, two in each lane, as well as the range safety officers who will staff the facility during operating hours, said gun shop owner Henry Parro.  

The project also includes 13,000 square feet for retail space, offices, and a training center, Parro said. 

The project is exciting, but Parro acknowledges that things aren’t going as quickly as he hoped. “I put the project on hold for a few months until we figured everything out. It is going forward, just slower than I would like. I guess that is the world of commercial development,” he said. 

Despite the delay, Parro said work to begin construction should start this week. Connor Contracting Inc. out of Berlin won the contract. Their work includes the Sara Holbrook Community Center in Burlington and the Vermont Artisan Coffee & Tea Co. facility in Waterbury Center.  “Excavation is going to mobilize … early next week and then they are going to just start digging,” Parro said. 

Parro blamed some of the delay on the pandemic and Vermont’s permitting process. “It is hard to do any commercial development in Vermont with the cost of doing everything, between the Act 250 and permits,” he said. “My dream cost me $50,000 just for two permits.” 

Mixed-use space awaits tenants at Bell’s Block

Construction on Bell's Block is in its final stages, creating new space for growing or new businesses in downtown. Photo by Gordon Miller.

One of the largest projects in town is Bell’s Block, which has gone up at 26-28 Stowe Street and adjoining the property at 11 North Main Street. The new three-story building was designed with retail and office space on the first and second floors and the developers are now envisioning three residential apartments on the third floor. Each floor is roughly 2,300 square feet, with the first floor designed in a way that allows entrances both on Stowe Street and the parking lot behind the building, explained owner Jason Wulff. 

This building is different from many others in Waterbury as it was constructed using primarily insulated concrete foam and has an open and airy feel. “There is a limited supply of this type of building, in Waterbury in particular,” said Wulff who along with Aaron Flint are Perry Hill Partners developing the project.

Construction on the building has been ahead of schedule, even with work being stalled in the spring. “Work is going well. We expect to finish up around the end of the calendar year. It is progressing better than expected,” Wulff said. 

Still, Wulff expresses some worry about whether there is enough demand for the new space. “I’m a little nervous short-term. Nobody knows what is going to happen next,” he said. 

So far, the second-floor office space has been rented but Wulff declined to say who the tenant or tenants are. The remaining floors have yet to be spoken for and new signs touting “Retail/Office Space Available” have been put up on the building’s exterior.

“It hasn’t even made sense to market it so much, given the uncertainty of the environment. It’s a tough time,” Wulff said. 

For that reason, the final plans are somewhat in flux. Wulff said they are still debating whether the top floor will be offices or apartments. “We are debating on the third floor. If we can’t find an office maybe we will do apartments,” he said. 

Wulff and Flint were before the Development Review Board earlier this summer to revise their permitting for the use of some 1,500 square feet of the project from office to residential and to modify the parking lot layout accordingly.

Although it may take time for his new project to be completely leased, Wulff said he remains positive about the commercial future of Waterbury. “I think this town is well-situated from a long-term perspective. I know there is a ton of interest in this area coming from out of state,” he said. 

New owners aim to reinvent Rt. 2 restaurant venue 

New owners of the restaurant property at 1675 U.S. Rt. 2 envision the spot as a wedding and special events venue in 2021. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti.

The latest owners of a former restaurant establishment outside of downtown at 1675 U.S. Route 2 say it’s just as tricky for them to foresee how their plans will unfold given the uncertainties 2020 has dealt them. 

The former Cider House restaurant west of Waterbury village has undergone renovations over the past four years to once again be used as a restaurant and bar. Its owners recently received approval to broaden its use as a special event venue.

At just over 6 acres, the property has an existing two-story building with a 100-seat capacity restaurant. An additional 500 square feet was permitted for retail use. Under the new permit, the retail space will become a banquet room and the facility will host parties, particularly weddings using a combination of indoor and outdoor space. 

“The building had a permit to do weddings indoors, but we now have the permit to do it outdoors as well,” said Loc Nguyen who owns the property along with his son, Daniel. “We have been renovating the building and it took more than we had anticipated.”

Daniel Nguyen, 33, will have a primary role running the restaurant, and will also be the head chef. He studied at the New England Culinary Institute, specializing in French and Italian cuisines. The restaurant, which the Nguyens plan to name Dally’s, will feature both Italian and American food. “We are thinking a mix of Italian, so maybe three or four pasta and then steaks and burgers,” Daniel Nguyen said. 

With summer coming to a close soon and the public health concerns with COVID-19, the possibility for outdoor events this year has essentially passed. The plan now is for the Nguyens to open the restaurant next spring, but even that is not entirely certain.  “We were looking at sometime in the spring of 2021. That was the goal date for opening. But after what has happened to our family in the last month, we are starting to look at things from a different perspective,” the younger Nguyen said, referring to the Aug. 4 death of his wife Emily Smith who was 37.

Still, Daniel Nguyen said he’s confident that the last four years of work put into renovating the property have been worthwhile. “One of the main reasons we decided to do the renovations that we did was because we wanted to increase the value of the property,” he said. “Running the restaurant is an option.” 

Behind the scenes at Stimson & Graves

Tabbatha Henry is settling into her new studio and shop on Stowe Street. Courtesy photo.

With so much happening with the water and sewer line project along Main and Stowe Streets this summer, it’s been easy for construction work at the Stimson & Graves building on the corner to go unnoticed. Changes are unfolding on both the street level commercial space and upstairs in the senior apartments, however. 

Earlier this year, Martha Lewis Antiques closed and moved out of the storefront space on the ground floor. That became an opportunity for ceramics artist Tabbatha Henry to move into a higher-profile spot than her studio and gallery in the Grist Mill building on upper Stowe Street. 

In order for Henry to set up shop she first had to apply to change the use of the 1,200 square-foot retail space to craft production with a retail showroom. Henry’s plan is to use two-thirds of the space for production including a kiln, machinery, and design space. The other third will be devoted to retail where Henry will display her own work to start, and slowly incorporate other items into the shop.

Compared to her previous location set back from the street above Hen of the Wood restaurant, Henry said this new spot on busy Stowe Street offers much more visibility. “Now I have three big windows that look out onto Stowe Street with a lot of drive-by exposure,” she said. 

Henry said she originally planned to offer ceramics lessons in her new space but that’s on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic for now. “That was the plan before covid. There is a chance I will offer lessons in the future, more of a one-on-one kind of thing. Not right away. I’m going to stay focused on getting the business up and running after shutting down for a few months,” she said.  

Henry has moved in and has been busy producing inventory. She said she plans to open the new studio and store gradually. “I want the shop fully ready to go and have more products in here. Up until then we will do sort of a soft opening. I would love to do a grand opening around the holidays,” she said. 

Meanwhile, the upper two floors of the building are also seeing changes. Senior and affordable housing fill just over 9,000 square feet managed by Downstreet Housing and Development.  Nicola Anderson is assistant director of real estate development for Downstreet. She said the units are all getting upgrades. 

“It is called a rehab -- upgrading appliances, painting, the heating system, and finishes,” she said, explaining that the work is being done with tenants present in the building.  “We have 14 apartments, but only 11 tenants. So we are doing relocation within the units. They will be relocated to another apartment while theirs is being rehabbed,” Anderson said. “The project should be completed by the end of October.”

Community News Service is a collaboration with the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.