News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Dr. David Dargis recently purchased the former The Cellar restaurant in Alpena, as well as the former Bingham School. He said he hopes a new restaurant can be opened and the outdoor dining area on the river can be enjoyed.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Dr. David Dargis recently purchased the former The Cellar restaurant in Alpena, as well as the former Bingham School. He said he hopes a new restaurant can be opened and the outdoor dining area on the river can be enjoyed.

Recently he acquired three new properties he hopes he can market to potential developers so they can help push Alpena’s growth.

Dargis said he loves Alpena and although he does make money on the resale of the property, the reason he does it is because when he sees unused or under utilized property, he wants to do his part to fill the empty space.

“I love Alpena, it is my home and I want to see it thrive,” Dargis said. “I see these places and the potential they have. When I purchased the property downtown where the new hotel is at, people thought I was crazy. I had to hold onto it for a while, but I never gave up and now we have something great there.”

In the last month Dargis acquired the former The Cellar restaurant building by the Second Avenue bridge, the former Bingham School, and two parcels of property at the end of 14th Avenue on Thunder Bay River.

Dargis said he already has been cleaning up the grounds and making improvements to the old school and office/restaurant facility and he suspects it won’t take long for potential investors to show interest.

“The location is great because it is right on the river and has plenty of space for outside, riverfront dining,” he said. “There is 140 feet of waterfront and a docking area where someone can pull right up in their boat and come to dinner. That sounds fantastic.”

There are several ways for how the old school could be used, Dargis said. He said the building is in good shape and should be attractive for investors.

“We’ve talked to the (Alpena-Montmorency-Alpena Educational School District) which may have an interest in a children’s hand-on museum of some sort, and I’ve also talked to people about developing it into senior housing or potentially a community center,” he said.

Dargis said he would like to see additional housing constructed one day on the river at the 14th Avenue property and he could consider purchasing additional residential property in the vicinity if it becomes available.

“That is just a great area and I think there could be something really special there one day,” Dargis said.

Dargis said the potential for a future sale or lease of the acquired land may not happen overnight, but he is OK with it. He said being the owner of the property allows him to pick and choose who he sells it to and how it will be developed.

“I’m not scared to sit on these things if I have to,” he said. “I just want to make sure whatever they are used for is good for Alpena.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached via email at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5689. Follow Steve on Twitter ss_alpenanews.