Photos by Michelle Dillon Ataraxia Properties was chosen by Opportunity Appalachia to receive funds and technical assistance for its efforts to turn the Glass Press Building, which is actually two buildings located next to each other on Union and Putnam streets in Marietta, into a retail, residential and office space. Pictured is the building that makes up the Glass Press Building that is located on Putnam Street, in January and it is the building that will be renovated as part of the project.

Ataraxia Properties Inc. received funding in late May from Appalachian Community Capital through its Opportunity Appalachia program for a project to renovate the Glass Press Building located in Marietta, according to Ataraxia President Grant Schneider.

The Glass Press Building consists of two buildings, one located at 217 Union St. and one at 212 Putnam St., and according to Schneider, the project involves the four-story building located at 212 Putnam St.

Schneider declined to disclose the amount of the funds, but said the money was awarded for technical assistance. Opportunity Appalachia’s website said average technical assistance funding is $40,000 to $70,000 per project.

Schneider said the money for technical assistance is to help take the project “from where we are today, (which is) a feasibility study, to actually getting to be ready to start construction.”

The first floor of one of the buildings that makes up the Glass Press Building on Putnam Street.

He said as part of the project, Opportunity Appalachia will also introduce Ataraxia to investors, help them with design and blueprint construction and connect with providers in their network.

According to its website, Opportunity Appalachia awards funds to real estate development projects located in central Appalachia, specifically in parts of Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and all of West Virginia, that support economic restructuring and diversification in underinvested communities.

Schneider said Ataraxia is starting by renovating the Putnam Street building but after they see how it goes once it is finished they will renovate the second building on Union Street.

According to Schneider, renovations will include installing new elevators and HVAC to make the building modern.

“The buildings themselves have beautiful brick,” Schneider said, adding they plan to restore them to their original condition.

Photo by Michelle Dillon The first floor of one of the buildings that make up the Glass Press Building. The building is located on Putnam Street and is shown in January. It will be renovated into retail, office and residential space.

“The bottom (floor) we’d like to have be retail space,” Schneider said.

The dream tenant for the retail space would be a coffee shop or cafe, he said, adding there will also be event space on the first floor.

According to Schnieder, on the second floor there will be office space which could have a mix of tenants, from one big tenant to multiple smaller tenants. He said they want the businesses in the office space and the business in the retail space to make each other better off. He offered the example of employees from a second-floor business enjoying coffee on the first floor if a coffee shop ends up there.

“The top two (floors) will be apartments,” Schneider said.

He said the current renovation plan is for there to be two apartments on each floor and they will range from one to three bedrooms. He said they will be loft-style apartments geared toward employees of big employers who want work for part of the year and need somewhere to stay that is different than an AirBNB or hotel.

Photo by Michelle Dillon The first floor of one of the buildings that make up the Glass Press Building. The building is located on Putnam Street and is shown in January. It will be renovated into retail, office and residential space.

According to Schneider, the estimated cost of the renovations is $8 million and if everything works perfectly they hope to start construction at the end of 2025. He said the worst case scenario would be construction happening in five or six years if it takes longer to find investors or there are some construction problems.

Schneider said the project is expected to create almost 60 jobs. The jobs will be the employees that work for the businesses that become tenants in the building.

He said the plan is also to restore the building on 217 Union St., but they are going to wait to see how well the first project goes before they decide how they will renovate the second building.

Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentinel.com

Photo Provided A rendering of what an event space might look like in the Glass Press Building once it is renovated. Ataraxia Properties Inc. received money from Opportunity Appalachia to renovate one of the buildings that make up the Glass Press Building, the one on Putnam Street, into retail, office and residential space.

Photo Provided A rendering of what a retail space might look like in the Glass Press Building once it is renovated. Ataraxia Properties Inc. received money from Opportunity Appalachia to renovate one of the buildings that make up the Glass Press Building, the one on Putnam Street, into retail, office and residential space.

Photo Provided A rendering of what the front of the building located on Putnam Street that makes up part of the Glass Press Building may look like once it is renovated. Ataraxia Properties Inc. received money from Opportunity Appalachia to renovate one of the buildings that make up the Glass Press Building, the one on Putnam Street, into retail, office and residential space.

Photo Provided A rendering of what the rear of the building located on Putnam Street that makes up part of the Glass Press Building may look like once it is renovated. Ataraxia Properties Inc. received money from Opportunity Appalachia to renovate one of the buildings that make up the Glass Press Building, the one on Putnam Street, into retail, office and residential space.