RUMFORD – A longtime dining and lodging tradition will soon change, according to an application presented to the Planning Board on Wednesday night.

Richard Theriault, owner of the Madison Inn and Restaurant, appeared before the board with business partners Dyke Associates of Windham to request a change of use and subdivision approval for the business to become condominium units.

“It’s time to do something with the Madison. We expect the condominiums to be second homes. We are selling the river,” he said.

The new enterprise will be known as Madison’s Rivers Edge Resort Condominiums, LLC, and will be valued at $3.5 million once the conversion is completed, Warren Dyke said.

Twenty-nine, one- and two-bedroom units are expected to be converted in the motel, restaurant and on the foundation of a section of the motel that burned a year or so ago.

The complex on Route 2 sits on 9.2 acres next to the Androscoggin River two miles west of downtown. The original motel had 70 rooms, a restaurant and a banquet facility.

Theriault has been operating the motel and restaurant for 45 years.

“It’s time to do it,” he said.

Tentative plans are to begin work on the project early in 2007, with completion expected within a year.

Theriault said the restaurant will remain open on a week-by-week basis.

Although Dyke Associates business manager Rick McDougold would not provide a price range for the condominiums, he said prices would be moderate.

If all permits are submitted in the next couple of weeks, the Planning Board is expected to act on the subdivision and change of use application at their Dec. 6 meeting. Chairman Gary Casey said he would call a meeting sooner if the paperwork is completed and the applicants want approval more quickly.