Developers of a former shoe factory in downtown Newburyport have cleared a hurdle in their bid for re-development of the Bracket Heel building. The project has been touted as a catalyst for heightened activity along upper State Street.

The Zoning Board of Appeals approved the mixed-use development - where spaces for professional, retail and residential usage co-exist under one roof - on Jan. 12. Bracket Heel has made headlines to date because of Stonehaven Realty Development principal Chris Horan’s plans to add the glass penthouse to the top of the building, which was constructed as a shoe factory in the 1880s. The planned rooftop penthouse still has some hurdles to jump because it needs a height variance from the ZBA, which the developer expects to get at the March 12 meeting.

The three upper floors of the building, which sits behind 84-86 State Street (which is part of the property), have been empty since 1938. The Port Tavern Irish pub occupies the portion of the two-story commercial building facing State Street but the old mill building is around the corner along Prince Place.

The building has about 4,300 usable square feet per floor or about 22,000 total square feet of usable space. By June 15, Horan expects the building will have several floors of office space and a wine bar on the first level, which is partially underground. On the fifth floor, Horan is planning to have three luxury condominiums with access to the penthouse level and a proposed deck.

Horan, who comes from a family of builders, said he fell in love with the Bracket Heel building. He made an offer for the building within a week of viewing it. He said: “I want to make this a very special building.”

The third floor is already under contract with one business group, and a professional medical practice has expressed a strong interest in leasing about 3,000 square feet on the fourth floor. Horan said a planned wine bar, to be called Conner’s Cellar, will have exposed brick and stone and 40-foot wooden beams off the lobby. The wooden beams are from the original building and will be used throughout the building. Horan believes the people who work and live in the building and patronize Conner’s Cellar will add considerable life to the area.

The penthouse has been one of the main challenges. Working with the Historical Commission and the ZBA Horan changed the original design of the penthouse, lowering the ridge line by four feet and re-situating it atop the building away from State Street, to where it would be less visible from street level.

Horan said: "I am very impressed with the way the Historical Commission operated. They really put me through the grinder. But they were open to ideas."

He said the process was a great example of private and public efforts joining together for the common good.

He built a wooden outline of the proposed penthouse and took city officials to the roof to let them see how the penthouse would look. The penthouse level, which is six floors up, would offer residents panoramic views of the city’s skyline, the waterfront, Plum Island and even the Atlantic Ocean, Horan said.

The entrance on Prince Place will feature a glass awning over the door. Inside the two-story lobby will have curved walls, a ceiling 12 to 14 feet high and a curving staircase leading to the second-floor offices. Horan is planning a water feature on the wall opposite the entrance.

Large windows will bring in sunlight into every floor, including the wine bar. There will be exposed brick from the original building on all floors.

One of the obstacles the building presented to potential developers was providing parking for the residences. The city requires two parking spaces for each residential unit. Horan resolved the issue by building six parking spaces – three tandem spaces – inside the building at street level.

Austin Spinella with Minco Corp. commercial brokers is leasing and selling space in the building. Spinella said: “There was a lot of interest by others in buying this building. But nobody could figure out the parking. Chris did.”

For the commercial spaces, parking is available in three municipal lots nearby, although all three of those lots are frequently full. The office space is currently leasing, starting at $18 a square foot. But once the building is finished, the lease price will go up, Horan said.

The development on the circa 1880 Bracket Heel building was approved in December by the Historical Commission after Stonehaven lowered the height of the proposed penthouse addition and received the go-ahead without a one-year demolition delay on the roofline change.

The building exceeds the city’s maximum height requirements by 20 feet as it stands at 50 feet. Other parts of the plan that did not conform to other zoning ordinances, including lot coverage, setbacks and frontage, were all approved in the Jan. 12 meeting, said Dianne Eppa in the Planning Department.

In the photo (top, right): Austin Spinella on left and Chris Horan.