Flatiron Building in Norwich sold; no plans revealed
Norwich— A West Hartford-based real estate firm has completed the purchase of the long-vacant Flatiron Building at the junction of Main and Water streets, along with the vacant former Dunkin’ Donuts property across the street.
Trebiug Properties LLC, headed by Guibert Peralte, completed the purchase Feb. 21 from Hubert LLC, a company owned by Michael and Catherine Yesenko, a Norwich couple who died in a hurricane in Florida last fall. Trebiug purchased the Flatiron at 9-15 Main St., the former Dunkin’ Donuts at 16 Main St. and a nearby small vacant lot at 17 Church St. for a combined $400,000.
According to documents on file in Norwich Probate Court, Trebiug had reached a purchase agreement with the Yesenkos before their deaths. Because the properties were owned by a limited liability company, the transaction was completed outside the probate court process.
Guibert Peralte was not available for comment Wednesday on any plans for the Flatiron Building. The 1887 triangular-shaped red brick building with large windows and ornate brickwork has long been considered by city officials to be a prime location near Norwich Harbor for a café with apartments in the upper stories. The accompanying property across the street could provide parking for the development.
City officials said no plans have been filed for the properties. Director of Inspections Dan Coley said a representative came to the city building office seeking a permit to restore the Flatiron building floors, but no design plans have been submitted.
Kevin Brown, president of the Norwich Community Development Corp., which oversees the Norwich Revitalization Program, said he has reached out to the new owner. Brown said he will invite Peralte to apply for matching grants for building renovations.
“We want to make it clear to the new owner that we stand ready to partner with him through the Norwich Revitalization Program to bring this building back to life,” Brown said.
Brown said if that happened, it would add to the growing list of renovations either underway or about to start at prominent Main Street buildings. Renovations are nearing completion to convert the former Elks Club into a boutique hotel at the opposite end of Main Street. Across from that building, an environmental cleanup is about to start at the former YMCA building, where Mattern Construction plans to move its headquarters.
In the middle of Main Street, renovations are planned at the former Reid & Hughes Building to create 17 apartments and street-level retail space. And a few doors down from the Flatiron, Norwich Luxury Apartments LLC is renovating a large two-building complex at 77-91 Main St.
“We’re going to see ‘under construction’ and ‘opening soon’ signs up and down Main Street by this summer,” Brown said.
Peralte has purchased three other buildings in Norwich in recent years, including the former Laurel Hill School at 327 Laurel Hill Ave. The commercial building had housed restaurants and bars over the years but has been vacant since 2012 following a fatal shooting of a patron on the back deck. Peralte purchased the building in 2020 for $210,000.
Peralte’s Trebiug Properties LLC purchased an 1870 large, 4,666-square-foot single-family house at 60 Laurel Hill Ave. in 2018 for $127,000 and a 1788 single-family house at 2 Mediterranean Lane in the Norwichtown Historic District for $84,900 in February 2022.