Norwich — Gov. Ned Lamont stepped about 5 feet into the lobby of the former YMCA on Main Street on Thursday morning, stepped on spongy fallen ceiling tiles, gazed at a smashed interior window, caught his breath at the dank air and announced he had seen enough.

“I see what you mean when you said it’s a little bit of work,” Lamont said to George and Eric Mattern, the father and son leaders of Mattern Construction, which plans a $4 million renovation and partial demolition of the derelict building at 337 Main St.

On April 6, Lamont announced a $2 million Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant to help support the Baltic company’s renovation plan. The city also is awaiting word on an application for a $650,000 federal Environmental Protection Agency grant to do an environmental cleanup of the property, including asbestos and lead paint abatement.

The YMCA closed abruptly in April 2009, when the YMCA of Southeastern Connecticut announced it could not afford upkeep of the building. The complex became abandoned, and the ownership defunct. The city took the building last summer either to demolish it or market it for renovations.

Mattern Construction was the only firm to respond to the city's advertisement. The company plans to demolish a rear portion of the building to create parking, leaving a horseshoe-shaped structure to become the commercial construction company’s new headquarters.

Additional space will be marketed for a restaurant, coffee and sandwich shop or brew pub, Eric Mattern told the governor, showing an early design rendering. Eric Mattern said company officials will meet with the city in a couple weeks to iron out the plan and prepare to begin. Construction is expected to take about six to eight months.

George and Eric both were members of the former YMCA, Eric said, making the project a bit personal. George Mattern started the company 35 years ago.

“This is the kind of thing we do. We’re pretty good at it. It’s quite a challenge,” George Mattern said.

Lamont asked why the project is so challenging.

“It’s been abandoned for so long and neglected,” George Mattern said in quick response. “The roof leaks. It’s wet inside. Things are falling apart. A lot of remediation needs to be done, and it’s a combination of a variety of buildings. We’re trying to make them fit to what we need, it's going to be a bit of a challenge. We can do it. We’ll try to give it a fresh look, try to update the interior so it’s economical as far as energy use and create some more parking.”

Norwich applied for the Challenge Grant to clean up the Main Street eyesore at a key gateway to downtown. When sidewalk talk turned to city taxes and budget issues, city officials told Lamont the central city paid fire district tax rate is close to 50 mills. Mayor Peter Nystrom said the YMCA rehabilitation will be a big boost to downtown.

“This was never taxable property,” Nystrom said. “It will become a taxable property. These kinds of things are what we need the most.”

c.bessette@theday.com