The Grant Building on the corner of Water and Centre streets in Bath, which has sat vacant for eight years, will now consist of housing, offices, a gym and performance space.

The planning board unanimously approved building owner and developer Sean Ireland’s plan to rehabilitate the Grant Building on Tuesday.

Project Manager Mandy Reynolds said the ground floor of 31 Centre St. will become a second location for Union + Co., a co-working office space that has a location on Front Street. Reynolds and Ireland are co-owners of Union + Co.

The building’s second and third floors will become four residences – two units on each floor – that will be accessed via Water Street.

The basement will hold a gym and performing space available to the entire building, said Reynolds.

Aside from interior changes, Reynolds said the building’s art deco façade will be repaired.

Ireland’s plan also includes installing 80 solar panels on the roof that are expected to produce about 30% of the building’s electricity annually.

Ireland did not return requests for comment Wednesday.

In a letter to city councilors Wednesday, downtown revitalization group Main Street Bath endorsed Ireland’s idea because it encourages “a mix of residential alongside retail, service, and cultural activities.”

“We also appreciate that the project aims to make a large space more physically accessible to a wide array of people, with aesthetic and safety upgrades which will maintain the historic character while bringing the building up to date,” Main Street Bath representatives wrote. “The project also proposes to support social and economic systems that connect Main Street Bath’s target demographics of young/relocating families and active retirees.”

“The T.W. Grant Building’s best days are ahead of it,” Ireland said. “The role that this building plays in the future of Bath is more important and prominent than the role it played in the history of Bath, and that’s not true of all buildings in Bath.”

The building was home to W.T. Grant Department Store from 1936 to 1970, said Ireland.

Sagadahock Real Estate Association, owned by John Morse IV and his family, purchased the building in 1971, according to city records. Ireland said the association rented the property to Bath Iron Works where it was used intermittently as ship’s quarters for the Navy until 1994.

“People don’t have a strong recollection of what it was during that time, and the reason for that is because it was often vacant during that time,” said Ireland. “They would use it for six months, 18 months, two years, then the ship would go and it could be another two years before they needed it again.”

The property then held Tate’s Department Store from 1995 until 2014, but the building has remained empty since then. It did, however, temporarily host Beacon Park, an indoor community center created to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, last winter.

Morse sold the 21,000-square-foot building, which included about a dozen parking spaces, last year to Windward Properties for $309,000.

Last year, the city estimated the property to be valued at $536,100.

Morse said the Grant Building has proven to be difficult to rent because it’s large and few businesses can afford to rent and fill even one floor. Morse said he likes Ireland’s plan to break the space up into smaller, affordable pieces that could generate enough rent to make the building pay for itself.

“I think at this point he finally has something that will work, be useful, uses the whole building, and doesn’t demand a lot of parking. I think it’s going to work,” said Morse. “In the long run, I think it’ll be a good investment and add to the downtown. That lower part of Centre Street has needed a little help to keep foot traffic up and keep it viable.”

Morse also said he hopes Ireland’s plan brings young people into downtown Bath.

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