The 338 West Main building in downtown Ellsworth is both a labor of love and an investment by two local couples in the community’s downtown.

In the fall, Gabe and Katie Feuerhelm and Travis and Wendy Thayer purchased the historic building at the northeast corner of Main and Chestnut Streets. They’ve worked hard getting office space available for rent ready on the first floor. Stop in and see what they’ve done so far and what their plans are for 338 West Main, which at 3,500-squarefeet a floor is the biggest building in the downtown area.

An open house is planned for Friday for the community – and prospective office space tenants – to check the building out. The open house is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 22 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The building was built around the 1890s as a bank.

“Actually we have the safe and the vault from the original bank. They’re still in there,” Gabe Feuerhelm said in an interview Monday morning.

After the bank closed, for years it was Travis’ father, Steven Thayer’s, popular Ben Franklin Store and was transitioned to office space after that, with Ritzinger Eye Clinic occupying it.

“We bought it 50-50 with Travis and Wendy,” Gabe Feuerhelm said. “It’s really turning out nice. We’ve renovated the downstairs, from carpet to paint to modernize the office spaces downstairs. The idea is to get the offices rented out to a single company or multiple companies, depending on the need.”

More big things will happen in the spring.

“We’re going to be renovating the outside this spring and trying to return the face and the exterior back to what it was, bigger windows floor to ceiling. Long-term we’re going to work on renovating the upstairs. It’s a similar-sized space to the 3,500-square feet on the first floor,” said Feuerhelm.

The plan is for that to be turned into luxury condominium rental space.

“We looked at the building and what it could be is what put us over the edge and made us interested in becoming involved. We want to make sure Ellsworth’s Main Street is something to be proud of. To have the opportunity to take something and return it to its former glory, that really attracted us,” said Feuerhelm. “We’re excited for people to see it. It’s quite a large building with a lot of available space.”

And the project could lead to bigger and better things.

“It might be a good idea to try to expand this idea,” he said. “We want to show people what’ we’ve done so far with the main floor here. The objective at the end of the day is to get those office spaces rented out, to get some businesses in there.”