By Adam Wittenberg
Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN — It took almost six months to close the deal, but now he’s ready to start the work.
Local developer Ross Gulino purchased the buildings at 5765 W. Main St. and 55 Grove St. from the city Thursday. He paid just $50,000 for the dilapidated structures, but has pledged to redevelop them into offices, retail and 12 loft apartments for artists. The City Council had approved the sale in early October, but complications with the terms and a lease agreement with an existing tenant, Castle Craig Players, held up the sale.
The theater group has leased space from the city for 14 years at an annual rent of $1, and has enjoyed the use of two other storefront units and the Grove Street building for storage, displays and a reception area.
Gulino agreed to allow the players to rent their theater at 57-59 W. Main St. for $1, but is seeking market rent for the Red Room, an adjacent reception area at 61 W. Main St.
The group can’t afford to pay market rent, but the Meriden Arts Council hopes to keep the room available for the theater.
The council intends to apply for nearly $22,000 in state money for local art agencies, funds that would allow it to rent the room and share it with the players on performance nights. In order to apply, the council must raise $4,300 by the end of next month.
“We’ve beefed up our mem¬bership, and we have our fundraiser Saturday night,” said Staci M. Roy, the council’s president.
Dance the Night Away for the Arts, a cabaret-style dance featuring a live band, is Saturday at the Augusta Curtis Cultural Center on East Main Street.
But the sale leaves the buildings’ other tenant with a decision to make.
For 10 years, Chet Glen of Kitchens by Glen has paid the city below market rent for space at 63 W. Main St.
But an increase to market rent, about triple the $400 he now pays, could force him to relocate or close.
“I don’t know which way to turn,” said Glen, who at 79 is considering retirement. “At my age, everybody’s telling me I should knock it off, but I love what I’m doing. I’ve got to take it day by day.”
Work could start quickly, Glen said.
“He’s telling me he’s going to start it right away,” Glen said of Gulino. “He’s hoping maybe by the end of summer to have the place occupied, but I don’t see that. He’d have to go like a ball of fire.”
Mayor Mark D. Benigni said he’s “excited and anxious to see that building renovated and improved.”
“This is another key building in downtown Meriden’s redevelopment,” Benigni said. “My hope is that now as the weather breaks that Ross gets right to work and moves this project along. If you look at the job he did on (33 W. Main St.) and compare that to the pace of other downtown developers, you’ll see his pace is much more suited to the city’s needs.”
The theater group has leased space from the city for 14 years at an annual rent of $1, and has enjoyed the use of two other storefront units and the Grove Street building for storage, displays and a reception area.
Gulino agreed to allow the players to rent their theater at 57-59 W. Main St. for $1, but is seeking market rent for the Red Room, an adjacent reception area at 61 W. Main St.
The group can’t afford to pay market rent, but the Meriden Arts Council hopes to keep the room available for the theater.
The council intends to apply for nearly $22,000 in state money for local art agencies, funds that would allow it to rent the room and share it with the players on performance nights. In order to apply, the council must raise $4,300 by the end of next month.
“We’ve beefed up our mem¬bership, and we have our fundraiser Saturday night,” said Staci M. Roy, the council’s president.
Dance the Night Away for the Arts, a cabaret-style dance featuring a live band, is Saturday at the Augusta Curtis Cultural Center on East Main Street.
But the sale leaves the buildings’ other tenant with a decision to make.
For 10 years, Chet Glen of Kitchens by Glen has paid the city below market rent for space at 63 W. Main St.
But an increase to market rent, about triple the $400 he now pays, could force him to relocate or close.
“I don’t know which way to turn,” said Glen, who at 79 is considering retirement. “At my age, everybody’s telling me I should knock it off, but I love what I’m doing. I’ve got to take it day by day.”
Work could start quickly, Glen said.
“He’s telling me he’s going to start it right away,” Glen said of Gulino. “He’s hoping maybe by the end of summer to have the place occupied, but I don’t see that. He’d have to go like a ball of fire.”
Mayor Mark D. Benigni said he’s “excited and anxious to see that building renovated and improved.”
“This is another key building in downtown Meriden’s redevelopment,” Benigni said. “My hope is that now as the weather breaks that Ross gets right to work and moves this project along. If you look at the job he did on (33 W. Main St.) and compare that to the pace of other downtown developers, you’ll see his pace is much more suited to the city’s needs.”
