PETERBOROUGH — A planned reworking of the Granite Block building into a boutique hotel could start as early as next summer and might also include the adjacent Anderson Block building, said Cy Gregg Tuesday.

“We will do the planning over the winter ... so we are in a position to start talking about permitting in early spring,” said Gregg, one of a quartet of investors.

Gregg and his fellow investors, Stan Fry, Rob Finlay and Leo Barry (all of Peterborough), are in the planning process and on the verge of purchasing the Anderson Block building, said Gregg. The Anderson Block sits next door to the Granite Block on Main Street and currently houses Steele’s Stationers, which would remain if the investors go ahead with a planned purchase of the building.

Gregg said the Anderson Block would be incorporated into the hotel design, which could include 25 to 35 rooms, a full-service kitchen, retail shops, function and banquet halls, a spa, courtyards, rooftop decks and an exercise facility.

The project is a huge undertaking, Gregg said, and is still being studied.

“We are in the planning phase of a project that we believe will be an enhancement to the Peterborough area as well as promote a more vibrant downtown,” Gregg wrote in a statement to the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. “We are presently deep into the feasibility and planning stage. Helping us in the phase are CBT Architects from Boston, Hutter Construction, James Pennington from the ConcentricRE Group a division of the R.J. Finlay Co. of Milford, who has architectural and construction management expertise, and Pelagia Vincent from Greenfield who has considerable background in the design and operation of boutiques hotels.”

The statement goes on to explain that if the investors find that research dictates the space would be better “converted to another use such as commercial space or residential rentals/condos,” they might go that route. Gregg also wanted to point out that there was always the possibility that the investment team might decide that, given current economic conditions, they might be “better off doing nothing at this point and waiting for a more advantageous time to redevelop the area.”

Timing of the project

On Tuesday Gregg said that if he and the other investors decide to move forward, the hotel project would be planned over the winter and brought before town planners for approval as early as the spring. Construction could then begin as early as next summer, Gregg said, with the hotel ready to open in early 2012.

Gregg said he is working with the town to coordinate the hotel project with the Main Street Bridge and Route 202 retaining wall, noting that he would like to see the hotel project completed before the Main Street Bridge.

“We are going to try to coordinate our construction to try to avoid disrupting downtown.”

A great deal of the hotel work would be interior work, he added.

Peterborough Director of Public Works Rodney Bartlett said Wednesday the town project would likely go out to bid in late 2011 with a starting date of the spring of 2012.

“I don’t think the Main Street Bridge project and the Granite Block project under full construction at the same time would be a good idea,” Bartlett said. “We should be able to coordinate both projects so we minimize the combined impacts.”

Steele’s remains

According to Bill and Liz Littles, the owners of the Anderson Block building as well as Steele’s Stationers on the first floor, their intention had been to renovate the old building themselves when they purchased the building six years ago, but they were never able to.

Bill Littles said Wednesday that while the sale was not finalized, when he was initially approached by the investors, he knew it would be the best thing for the building. He added that in the hands of investors Gregg and Fry — who renovated Depot Square into modern retail and office spaces 10 years ago — it would be done correctly. Both Gregg and Littles declined to reveal the purchase price.

“They really have Peterborough at heart and they’ve done some really wonderful things with the Depot and created a really nice presence down there,” Littles said of Gregg and his partners. “They’re going to do a great job with it. Knowing what they’ve done with other things in town and knowing how they feel about the town.”

Littles said the second and third floors of the Anderson Block have not been used in decades, but at one time the second floor was rented as apartments and the third floor was once a ballroom.

If the investors go ahead with their purchase of the building, Littles said Steele’s would remain on the first floor and renovations to the Anderson Block would retain the ambiance and charm of the old building. Steele’s will keep its wood floor and tin ceiling, he said.

Littles added the hotel would be a great addition to downtown. “How nice to have a boutique hotel in the middle of town. ... I just find it really positive.”

Parking an issue

Gregg said opening a hotel downtown highlights the need for more parking downtown and that would have to be addressed. Parking spaces at 45 Main Street, an office building across the street from the Granite Block purchased by Granite Block investors earlier this year for $1.2 million, would be part of that solution, Gregg said. He added that he hopes Wall Street, the alley behind Granite and Anderson and the Mariposa Museum building would also be used to create new parking.

“There may be ways to increase the parking spaces downtown if we sit down and address it creatively,” Gregg said.

The Granite Block building was built in 1847 and rebuilt in 1902 after a fire. It has suffered from years of neglect, Gregg said. “Over two-thirds of the building is not usable at present.”

On St. Valentine’s Day, 2007 the ceiling fell in on the first-floor corner space that was once the E.A. Bishop real estate office. Repairs to the ceiling were never completed and the real estate office was never reopened. The owner of the Granite Block and E.A. Bishop then lost the building when it was foreclosed on and sold at an auction.

Gregg said he and his team were planning a boutique hotel because they wanted to create a comfortable, unique atmosphere that enhances the building’s original design.

“We don’t want it to be a cookie-cutter hotel like the Marriott or something like that,” Gregg said.

It would have a bed-and-breakfast approach but in a hotel atmosphere, he said.

Gregg said he was not sure what amenities the hotel would offer. “You start out with a wish list and you work your way back.”

A spa or an exercise room might be features patrons would want and would use, he said. “We want this to be a hotel where people can come and spend a few days and not have to run all over the place to have some things done.”

Gregg said a banquet hall for weddings or business conferences is a feature he thinks the region could use.

He and the other investors plan to apply for a community development block grant to help fund the project. The state grants are based on the number of new jobs a project creates. Gregg said he did not yet know just how many jobs the hotel would create.

Because of the current economy, he said the project is “a leap of faith,” however, he believes the hotel would be a boon to the vitality of downtown and the region as a whole.

“Certainly we would not be moving forward if we did not think it would be beneficial,” Gregg said.