An excavator from Casella Earth Services performs groundwork Tuesday in preparation for construction of a new building at the site of the former Last Unicorn restaurant on Silver Street in downtown Waterville. Amy Calder / Morning Watch

WATERVILLE — Earthworks began this week on Silver Street in downtown in preparation for the construction of a new building to replace the one destroyed in a fire last year.

Last Unicorn restaurant, 6 and 8 Silver St. He was renting the building at . caught fire It was demolished on April 23, 2023.

Originally consisting of two buildings connected together, it was owned by Sidney Geller. Geller, promising to rebuildhired architect Justin Morgan of Maine Home Design + Build of Augusta to design and construct a new building, starting immediately. The goal is to have it framed and protected by the first of the year.

Geller and property manager Bruce Fowler said the building is designed as a restaurant building, but there is potential for four tenants — two on the floor facing Spring Street and two on the Silver Street side. They said the building could be used for retail businesses, light commercial or industrial businesses such as frame construction, a clothing store or a grocery store.

“It should be ready in the spring or early summer of 2025,” Fowler said.

Geller, whose law offices are located nearby on Silver Street, added that interior finishing work, including electrical, plumbing and sprinkler work, won’t be done immediately because it will depend on tenants’ needs. It will be two stories high on the Spring Street side and one story high on the Silver Street side.

“The building is designed to carry additional stories in the future,” Fowler said. “An empty palette. “The person renting the area can build exactly as he wants.”

He said the building will be energy efficient.

“We use all of the current energy guidelines, including all mechanical services,” he said. “It will be a clean, energy-efficient building regarding weather changes and such.”

6 and 8 Silver St. in Waterville. Architectural view of a building designed for the site at . Designed by architect Justin Morgan of Maine Home Design + Build of Augusta, construction on the building began on the site of the former The Last Unicorn restaurant, which was destroyed by fire on April 23, 2023. Courtesy of Maine Home Design + Build

Geller, who owns several properties both downtown and elsewhere, all managed by Fowler, said he takes pride in the maintenance of those buildings.

“If something is faulty, it will be fixed immediately,” he said.

Because the Silver Street project will replace an existing building on an existing site, Planning Board review is not required.

Casella began excavation at the site on Monday to prepare for foundation work, and excavation work continued until Tuesday.

Architect and developer Morgan said Monday that he and his firm are excited to work on a project with such a rich history in the community.

“The new building stands out in the streetscape with cemented exterior panels and stained wood contrasting with bronze aluminum storefronts,” Morgan said in an email. “The front canopy announces the entrance area to pedestrians, creating a sense of human scale that is lost in many urban centres.”

6 and 8 Silver St. in Waterville. Architectural view of a building designed for the site at , illustrated from the Spring Street view. Designed by architect Justin Morgan of Maine Home Design + Build of Augusta, construction on the building began on the site of the former The Last Unicorn restaurant, which was destroyed by fire on April 23, 2023. Courtesy of Maine Home Design + Build

The Spring Street side of the building will be clad in corrugated metal and large glazed openings that allow natural light to illuminate the interior, according to Morgan.

“The interior is designed to be open to tenant flexibility, with long axial views throughout the space to create connections with the surrounding environment,” he said.

The fire that destroyed the building in April 2023 was reported around 4 a.m. and was caused by a basket of greasy kitchen towels found in the hallway between the restaurant’s kitchen and bar, a state fire inspector said at the time. Fowler said that the reason for this was spontaneous combustion, that the cotton material containing oil was in a basket in a closed area and produced heat when exposed to oxygen.

At the time, Fowler said the building may have appeared to be just one building, but it was actually two buildings. Honor Stanley and Rick Gallup opened the restaurant in 1978 at 8 Silver St., a wooden building, and later expanded to 6 Silver St., a brick building, by converting the street between the two buildings into a corridor. 8 Silver St. Between it and the Cancun Mexican Bar and Grill next door was an alley about a foot wide, where a concrete wall reveals soot from the fire. The east wall of the Last Unicorn did not touch the Silver Street Tavern and was about 10 feet away from it in some places.

The tavern is still open and busy but Cancun closed in 2021 for numerous sanitary and other violations.

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