Stonington ― The Zoning Board of Appeals has set an Oct. 11 public hearing on a variance request to renovate a dilapidated building at the corner of Mechanic Street and Route 1 in downtown Pawcatuck.

The building at 6 Mechanic Street, owned by local businessman Jim Lathrop, has long been vacant and has been in disrepair since a 2017 fire.

Lathrop, is asking the board to grant him a variance that would allow him to renovate the two-story building without complying with Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations that require raising the entrance approximately 5 feet.

His attorney Ted Ladwig said “you’d need a pogo stick to get from the sidewalk to the front door.”

Town zoning regulations state that if renovations cost more than 50% of the value of the building, they are considered substantial renovations and FEMA regulations requiring entrances to be one foot higher than flood grade, which is 10 feet on Mechanic Street, must be met. The building is currently at 6 feet with a sidewalk level entrance.

The town issued a permit in November of 2019 because the renovation cost did not exceed 50% of the value of the building. Documents associated with the permit show the value of the building to be $61,600 and estimate the cost of materials and labor to be $30,150, just shy of the 50% threshold of $30,800.

Lathrop said that when the permit was issued in November of 2019, it was too cold to do the cement work, and by the time it was warm enough, the nation was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and labor shortages caused more delay. The permit expired in November of 2020.

When he went to reapply this spring, he explained, prices of materials had risen, and the renovation cost exceeded the $30,800 threshold, which is why he is now seeking the variance.

The other option available to Lathrop is to demolish the building, which is connected to the neighboring building, occupied by Best Oil, also owned by Lathrop.

“Even if you knock down that building there’s no exterior wall to the building next to it, which creates a terrible hardship,” Lathrop said. “I’m not happy with the way that building looks, but our hands are tied until we get an approved permit for it,” he added.

He said the long-term plan for the building is a mixed of commercial use on the first floor of the building and a two-bedroom apartment on the second floor.

He has not yet identified a commercial tenant but added the first phase of construction is general enough to accommodate a wide variety of tenants.

Ladwig said he is confident Lathrop will get the variance which will allow him to obtain updated zoning and building permits and complete the renovations.

“You get your variance if the town wants it to proceed. Nobody wants that building to remain that way,” he said.

Lathrop has renovated the Best Energy building, upgraded its associated landscaping and is renovating two other downtown Pawcatuck buildings.

Four out of five board members are needed to approve the variance.

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