Nov. 30—ANDERSON — Two businessmen are hoping to breathe new life into the former First Savings building in downtown Anderson.
Sid Mahant, owner of Mahant Transportation, and Dr. Mahesh Goel have purchased the largest building in Anderson from Mariusz Kurylo.
M&M Enterprises is considering a new name for the property.
Mahant was a candidate for the Republican Party nomination in the 6th Congressional District.
Kurylo purchased the building at the intersection of Tenth and Jackson streets at a tax sale in 2021, paying $3,333 for the building; he invested $1.5 million in the property.
The building contains 77,000 square feet on 10 floors. At one time, it was the temporary home of several county offices during the renovation of the Madison County Government Center.
The building was constructed in 1971 at a cost of $2.7 million.
"We were looking for a building like that where we could invest in the community," Mahant said. "We wanted to give back to the community."
The long-range plan is to open a restaurant on the first floor in the former offices of First Savings & Loan. Mahant and Goel envision continuing to have office space available while developing the upper floors into apartments.
"We see some residential for sure," Mahant said, adding that there could be housing for senior citizens.
He said the investors would consider purchasing other properties in downtown Anderson. They have been meeting with city and county economic development officials concerning the investment.
Goel said work would start on the building as soon as they obtain the keys in December.
They intend to invest several million dollars into the property.
"It's a big project," Goel said. "It will cost a lot of money."
Goel said they are looking at investing more than $12 million in the project.
"We're looking at making investments in the city and other communities," he said.
"Anderson used to be a high-tech community," Mahant said. "We want to bring that back and encourage the community to welcome people from other cultures."
Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.