LEWISTON – Developer Rick Breton says he is ready to sink nearly a million dollars into a string of downtown buildings and is in negotiations with two restaurant chains to occupy one of the building’s street-level space.

“Lewiston has made some good efforts in capital investments in the downtown,” said Breton, who owns commercial properties throughout Lewiston and Auburn. “We’d like to be part of making the downtown a better place.”

Breton’s Double Eagle Properties bought the former Marco’s building at 177 Lisbon St., the upper two floors of which were gutted in a fire last July. He already owns the Cressey building next to Marco’s and bought the Kora Temple building next door, which houses the Classy Lady Boutique at the street level.

His plan is to reclaim and refurbish the former Marco’s building, restoring the upper two floors into leasable space. He said he has an architect and an engineer working on plans now to preserve as much of the facade of the Marco’s building as possible.

He also hopes to bring another eatery to the downtown. Breton said he’s in negotiations with a Maine-based restaurant chain and another chain from out of state for one of the street-level tenants, possibly in the space formerly occupied by Marco’s. He’s also talking to coffee shops – including Starbuck’s – for one of the other storefronts.

“I think we can attract retail business,” he said.

The former owners of Marco’s abandoned plans to rebuild the popular Italian eatery citing cost. They are planning to reopen the restaurant at a new location.

If all goes as planned, the 52,000 square feet of refurbished Lisbon Street space should be ready for occupancy this spring. Breton said he has already invested $60,000 in purchasing the properties and expects to invest more than $800,000 when work is complete. He’s considering creating a corridor from the parking garage that abuts the buildings to channel people into what he expects will be a retail and office complex.

He has also had some interest from prospective tenants for the office space.

“We have about 10,000 square feet of space available now,” said Breton. He said there’s 30,000 square feet total in the Kora Temple building alone.

The development is three separate buildings, all built in the late 19th century. Originally called the Kora Temple, Cressey and Greely buildings, they each have a brick facade and extend from 177 to 153 Lisbon St.

Breton said he’ll be applying to the city for grant money to help with the cost of the exterior renovations.