Two local developers hoping to revitalize a long-shuttered building near Augusta’s Mill Park will ask City Council Thursday for a tax break to help them pay for water and sewer service to the property.

James Bass and Tobias Parkhurst, through Powerhouse Redevelopment Inc., plan to turn a two-story brick building that was part of the Edwards Mill into a bagel shop, Bass said Tuesday. Although their original plan called for a wine bar, Bass said after getting feedback from the community, a family-oriented bagel shop seemed like a better fit.

“We wanted to have something the community would rally around and increase the utilization of Mill Park,” Bass said.

The park along the Kennebec River is home to a weekly farmers’ market, a fenced-in dog park and walking trail along the water. Just last week, the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual awards dinner inside a large tent erected at the park for the ceremony.

And in winter, the park draws families for sledding and ice skating.

One of the cost drivers of the new bagel shop will be extending city water and sewer to the property, which has electricity but no other utilities, Bass said. The credit enhancement agreement would return to the developers 50% of the property taxes owed for eight years to offset the cost of extending the water and sewer, Bass said.

The powerhouse itself sits on just over one acre and has not yet been assigned an assessed value by the city because it must be separated from the larger park parcel, according to the city assessor’s office.

In April, the council agreed to sell the brick building to Bass and Parkhurst for $1. The developers are co-founders of Cushnoc Brewing Co., a popular microbrewery in the downtown, and State Lunch, a restaurant also located on Water Street that last year was named the best new restaurant in Maine by DownEast Magazine.

Bass declined to say how much the bagel shop renovations will cost, saying only that it will require a “significant investment.” Workers have already started removing brick to open up space for new windows. If all goes as planned, Bass said they hope the bagel shop will open at the beginning of summer 2023.

The City Council will take public comment at 7 p.m. Thursday on the proposal, which falls under the city’s Downtown Omnibus Tax Increment Financing District.