MANCHESTER — The town has reached a financial settlement with two tenants that were still occupying a town-owned Main Street building that is slated to be demolished and redeveloped.
The town filed two lawsuits against the two tenants earlier this year, arguing that they must leave because their leases were terminated after the town purchased the property.
The building they occupied is the so-called Tong building at 942 Main St., a one-story retail building purchased by the town of Manchester for $1.75 million in March 2023 from WJSJM LLC, a company operated by the parents of Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.
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By December 2023, four of the six tenants had moved out or were expecting to, but Manchester officials continued to negotiate with the operators of Manchester Chinese Cuisine and Luna Body Works Spa.
Town Attorney Timothy O'Neil said Monday that the town has since come to a financial settlement with each remaining tenant, but did not provide specifics, other than to say that the town will be paying for the tenants to abandon their spaces.
"The lawsuits were dismissed because the town reached agreements with both of those remaining tenants," he said. "We came to an agreement with both of those tenants as a result of mediation."
O'Neil would not comment regarding how much each tenant is being paid to leave the property, saying it would not be "appropriate" until both have left.
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Nonetheless, "there was a financial aspect to it," he said.
Luna Body Works Spa left the property June 28 and Manchester Chinese Cuisine is scheduled to leave Aug. 16, O'Neil said.
Once the property is completely empty, local officials plan to demolish the building and put it out to bid for a new development that is expected to include a mix of commercial and residential space, O'Neil said.
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"It's finally at the end of the line," he said. "We are looking forward to the building being vacated, the building coming down, because it has been the subject of some adverse comments from residents."
In its lawsuits filed in March, the town argued that both Manchester Chinese Cuisine and Luna Body Works Spa had their leases terminated on Jan. 12 and were issued a notice Jan. 22 requiring all premises to be vacated by the end of the month, but both businesses remained in the building.