Today, the main street cluster known as the Phenix Block is most frequently visited by those grabbing a bagel and a smoothie from The Works Cafe, supplying their latest craft ambitions at DIY Craft and Thrift or perusing the wares at Hilltop Consignment.
In time, owner Mark Ciborowski’s hope is to rehab and reinvigorate the historic theater on Phenix Hall’s upper floors, to tear down the neighboring two buildings and to replace them with an eight-floor complex featuring retail and office space, a rooftop restaurant and 36 units of housing.
Ciborowski’s longtime vision for the area is one the city shares.
Last year, the Concord City Council made it easier to build taller downtown buildings to help smooth the path for this project, which stretches 200 feet along Main Street at the heart of downtown. The project ran afoul of previous rules: Its roughly 90-foot height was too tall and would block the view of the statehouse dome from the highway.
The new rules allow for case-by-case exceptions to those height guidelines, which Ciborowski is hoping to get Wednesday night.
The project is now going back before the planning board for sign-off on its plans.
Ciborowski will also request permission to convert Phenix Avenue, running between Phenix Hall and the single story building next door, into a pedestrian walway and to build a skybridge to connect the complex with the auditorium inside Phenix Hall.
