It’s probably happened to you before: You’re walking downtown, minding your own business, and suddenly realize you’re surrounded by an old, stately-looking bunch. As they tower over you, you’re struck by their commanding presence and puzzled by the words etched into their concrete slabs.
We are, of course, talking about the buildings that grace Main Street and thoroughfares nearby. If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what’s in them – more precisely, what’s upstairs.
Lucky for us, the fine folks at Main Street Concord organized a walking tour last week to give us – and the 85 other people who showed up – a taste of what’s beyond the first floor of six downtown buildings. We explored apartments, condominiums, offices and community centers we never knew existed and learned about the history and future plans for some of the spaces. Obviously, we were very excited.
Here’s what we discovered:
Hills condominiums
8-10 Hills Ave.
The tour departed from Red River Theatres at 5:30 sharp. We were assigned to the white group (team white represent) and met our fearless tour leader, Roger Hawk.
The first stop was a condo above McGowan Fine Art on Hills Avenue. We were greeted by owners and sisters Kathy Stein and Susan Leahy, in the residence’s beautiful, open kitchen. We were invited to explore a second-story terrace, where Kathy keeps her herb garden.
We marveled at its oak floors and intricate coal-burning fireplace. The two-bedroom condo used to house a restaurant called Hazel Greens. A fire destroyed the structure years ago and in the ’80s it was redeveloped by Duncan McGowan.
There are eight units in the building – Kathy and Susan own two. Downstairs, there are a few offices and the art gallery. Susan, who’s lived there for 17 years, said she bought the place for about $19,000. In 2006, it was assessed at $162,000, which, considering the location and amenities, seems like a steal.
The nice thing about the condo is that when you’re in it, it doesn’t feel like Concord. It could be in any big city, like Boston or New York, minus the smog and car-honking. Still, there’s enough going on that it’s exciting. “Downtown beats the suburbs any day of the week,” Kathy said.
Old Depot Store
17 Depot St.
Next up, we traveled to the Old Depot Store, now known as the Cheers building, on Depot Street.
The four-story brick edifice was built in 1872 and used to store steel and other materials used to build the railroad. It later housed a printing shop. Concord developer Steve Duprey redeveloped the building in the ’80s, though many of its old wooden beams still remain.
Cheers Restaurant and Pub sits on the bottom floor, and upstairs contains offices. The city’s zoning ordinances allow for upper-story apartments, though the building would need a lot of work to get it up to code for that purpose.
For all you swanky developers out there, the two top stories of the building are currently on the market with a price tag of $730,000.
Phenix Theatre
36-42 N. Main St.
From there, we meandered through the alley behind Angelina’s Ristorante Italiano to the old Phenix Theatre.
We hiked up to the fourth floor to the stage area, which is now its being used as a yoga studio. The theater was built in 1855 and was the place to go in town until it burned down in 1893.
It was rebuilt in 1895 and hosted theatrical performances, speakers (including then-Illinois senator Abraham Lincoln), boxing and wrestling matches, fairs and dances. In those days, it could sit 976 people and served as the biggest venue until the Capitol Theater was built in 1927.
Now, it can hold 150 to 200 people max (assuming the fire marshal is on hand) and it too needs some work to get it up to code.
Owner Mark Ciborosky has dreams of renovating the space to make it what it was like in the old days. We’d like to see that happen, too.
Bart family apartments
13 Warren St.
We crossed Main Street and made our way to Warren Street, landing in an apartment (which happened to sit right above Granite State Candy Shoppe) owned by Jeff Bart. His family owns nine units in the building (built in 1886) and, we must confess, the location couldn’t get much better.
Bart’s family has been in the candy business since 1927, and since 1956, they’ve tempted tenants with their delicious sweets just downstairs.
The cozy, hardwood-floored apartments, which Bart said he rents mostly to law students, go for $700 – $800 a month (heat, hot water and the sweet smell of whatever’s cooking that day included).
Rowland Studio
21 N. Main St.
After our salivating ceased, we hit up Rowland Studio on Main Street.
Store owners Doug and Terri Walton don’t have much of a walk when going to work: They simply plop on their shoes and traipse down two flights of stairs.
Their 2,300-square-foot, two-floor condo above the art store was the stuff of dreams.
In 2004, the Waltons started renovating the place, which is now complete with marble-tiled counters, champagne-colored carpeting and a hot tub in the bathroom. Their bedroom, on the fourth-floor, offers great views of downtown. Pretty luxurious, no?
Masters’ building
28 S. Main St.
For our final stop, we walked down to the Masters’ Building on Main Street (next to the Coop). The building was constructed in 1907 and served as a printing shop for the reproduction of well-known paintings.
Now, the first two floors house a handful of businesses and its owner plans to add four upstairs units and put an elevator in. The idea is to gut the spaces and sell them as energy-efficient condos, said Jerry Kingwill, vice president of Cobb Hill Construction Inc.
The concept is still in the planning stage and would likely cost about $170,000 to develop each unit. The price to buy one of the 1,300-square-foot apartments would likely be about $200,000, Kingwill said.
We’ll be sure to stay tuned for developments.
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