By Jaime Thomas

The large, dilapidated building on the corner of Main and Quaker streets will stay vacant for a while.

Two years after the owners paused their renovation of the spot, they said they’re not sure when they will start again.

“It’s kind of on hold, with the economy the way it is,” said Timothy Viega, of Granville Properties LLC, who co-owns the building with his friend and business partner, Paul Swanson. “It’s difficult to shell out money when you don’t know where they economy is going to go.”

The two purchased the building in 2008 and worked on it for about a year and a half. Viega said it was condemned when they first bought it, and the area around it was roped off because parts of the roof were falling off.

So, the partners removed the current roof, put on a new one and got to work cleaning out the large building and securing it from its uninvited houseguests—pigeons.

“Because of the work that had to be done, it was fairly inexpensive,” he said.

Viega said their intent was to put a couple of apartments upstairs, but several factors have slowed those plans.

“It would take quite a chunk of money to get the building back. Quite a bit of work,” he said, explaining that the spot will need new plumbing, new wiring and other repairs because it was uninhabited for so long.

Additionally, he said there are now stricter rules when it comes to building apartments.

“There are more regulations with putting in elevators and things like that,” he said.

Though Viega lives out-of-state, Swanson has a farm in Hebron and regularly checks on the building. Though the two already put $75,000 into the project, they have decided to wait a bit before continuing the process.

Viega said the two don’t have plans at this point to put the building on the market but said they would definitely consider any offer to buy it.