Norwich ― Since 2009, the YMCA has sat vacant and slowly decaying at a key gateway spot on Main Street.

Not for much longer.

The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to transfer ownership of the former YMCA at 337-341 Main St. to Mattern Construction of Baltic for its planned new headquarters and commercial development.

Along with creating its new headquarters, Mattern plans to market excess space in the renovated building for a restaurant or pub. The property is directly across the street from the former Elks Club mansion, being renovated into a boutique hotel.

The deal to convey the property to the ownership company, 337-355 Main Street LLC, combined with a pending financial agreement between the city and the state Department of Economic and Community Development for an approved $2 million state grant, will allow the project to begin.

The city faced a tight deadline to complete the financing agreement with the state by April 6, and that agreement required the property to be transferred to Mattern first, city officials said.

Mattern plans a $4 million to $4.5 million project to do an environmental cleanup, gutting and partial demolition of the former YMCA building and new construction to create the construction company’s new headquarters.

Norwich Public Utilities recently became a third partner in the project. To avoid the prospect of having construction equipment and materials stored and laid out on a prominent Main Street property, NPU agreed to turn over its half-acre property on Erin and White streets in Greeneville to Mattern to serve as the company’s equipment storage and staging area.

“Mattern is a construction company, and they have material they need to store outside,” City Manager John Salomone said. “Nobody thinks they should have construction material stored on Main Street.”

NPU has been using the Erin and White streets properties for more than 25 years as a staging area for utility projects. In 2013, NPU purchased a small storage building for $46,000 to add to the property.

Mattern President Eric Mattern said his company would renovate the rundown warehouse.

“We’re very excited to get started,” Mattern said Tuesday. “The city has been wonderful to work with.”

The city added a $400,000 American Rescue Plan Act grant to the project for the environmental cleanup. Mattern Construction is matching that amount for the cleanup, Salomone said.

Mattern said work should begin this spring, starting with a general cleanup of the YMCA property to improve its appearance. The environmental abatement should be done by fall, when actual construction will begin.

Mattern said having the construction and staging area about a mile from the headquarters does not present any hardships. The split site also frees up more of the Main Street property for potential commercial development.

The transfer puts the former YMCA property on the city tax rolls for the first time in over a century and the Greeneville properties for the first time in at least three decades.

NPU now needs a new staging its for ongoing utility work. NPU also is losing its second project staging area behind the sewage treatment plant to make way for a nearly $200 million overhaul of the plant.

City and NPU officials are examining other city-owned properties that might be suitable for the city-owned utility. Salomone said city officials are not yet ready to identify the site. He was pleased at how the three-way partnership worked out.

c.bessette@theday.com