Mercantile Building Nears Completion

Cal Canfield has been working hard to land a restaurant and a bar for the Fayetteville Mercantile Building, but so far he’s had no luck.

“We’ve had three restaurants who have looked at it that are really serious,” Canfield said. “It’s going to be a prime, prime restaurant location. It’s on the street, and it’s going to have excellent frontage.”

In May 1999, Canfield and two partners in Ice Plant Development LLC purchased the 97-year-old building at 339 N. West Ave. in Fayetteville for about $500,000. The partnership has put about $1 million into renovation, Canfield said.

Renovation began immediately after the building was purchased and should be completed around Thanksgiving, he said.

“We are reconstructing the shell of the building and getting the interior ready,” Canfield said. Individual tenants will be expected to complete the interior construction, and that may take another two months, he said.

Canfield said the mixed-use development actually consists of two adjoining buildings — a two-story 11,000-SF structure and a one-story 3,000-SF building. The roof of the 3,000-SF building, he noted, can be used for seating as a dining area.

The restaurant location Canfield mentioned is a 2,700-SF section at the southeast corner of the 11,000-SF building. That location would also have 607 SF of space available as a patio and 911 SF of balcony space after construction is completed.