WESTERLY – The
Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce announced on Wednesday that it has purchased a blighted building in downtown Westerly, which it plans to utilize after rehabilitating it.
The 3,754-square-foot, two-story building located at
170 Main St. was purchased for the seller's asking price of $350,000, according to Chamber President Lisa Konicki. The building was being used as an appliance warehouse for Morrone Electric, which has a storefront next door. Terms of the sale were finalized on April 9. Morrone Electric declined to comment on the sale.
The property owner listed in a database on the Westerly town assessor's website is 170 Main Street RLT. Neither the property owner nor the town assessor's office could be immediately reached for comment.
Konicki said the Chamber now plans on spending $200,000 to $300,000 on upgrades to the facility, including new exterior siding and a new roof, which will be donated by Pawcatuck Roofing Co.
For the next 12 months, the building will be the focus of the Chamber’s expansion efforts. Konicki said the repairs on the building will be a major undertaking.
The downtown location currently doesn't have any plumbing, sewer, or electricity, which will need to be addressed before the Chamber can receive a certificate of occupancy for it, according to Konicki. The remaining restoration work, which has not yet been planned, will be done by local contractors.
Regardless, the Chamber is excited to have the opportunity to fix a blighted property as it establishes its presence in downtown Westerly, she said.
"The concept of taking a blighted property and investing in it, rather than building new construction is also a shared goal of the town’s Comprehensive Plan, and the Chamber’s strategic plan," Konicki said. "The Chamber is excited to further demonstrate our leadership role in downtown by revitalizing this annex location and transforming it to a showpiece on Main Street. The building has a lot of potential, and we will be proud to make that contribution."
The downtown location will house the Ocean Community Chamber Foundation, which is the organization's charitable arm, where a seasonal part-time employee will work once the necessary upgrades and certifications are complete, Konicki said.
The rest of the downtown building will be used for storage space to house the Chamber's pallets full of brochures and materials used to promote tourism within the town, which are taking up space at the Chamber's headquarters across town.
Plans for the second floor of the property will likely be to rent it out for office space, studio space for artists, or a small business, according to Konicki.
The Chamber, which assists local businesses, promotes tourism and works to improve the town's quality of life, is located at 1 Chamber Way, roughly an eight-minute drive from the downtown Main Street location.
The Chamber headquarters is strategically located on Route 1, where it can refer a large number of travelers to businesses in downtown Westerly. There are no plans to move the Chamber's home base to downtown, but funding efforts to expand the building at 1 Chamber Way have already been underway for the last 18 months, Konicki said.
However, the Chamber Way expansion plans have been put on the backburner, Konicki said, as the Chamber focuses its attention on fixing the blighted downtown building for more office and storage space.
The downtown annex makes for a homecoming of sorts for the Chamber, which is celebrating its 100th year. It originated just down the street from the 170 Main St. location at 159 Main St.
The Chamber's turn to downtown Westerly coincides with the organization's ongoing discussions to support the town's Main Street Resilient Renewal project, which is underway.
(SUBS third paragraph with detail on efforts to confirm prior owner.)
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
