LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WATE) - After more than six months of planning, eight investors along with Lenoir City leaders announced a business they believe will help revitalize their downtown.

Currently in the old city utility building you'll find empty offices, furniture and remnants of the old city water, gas and sewer departments. Mayor Tony Aikens announced Friday a restaurant, distillery and brewery combo would take over the vacant building. 

Lee Ledbetter calls it a great day for the city.

"It's kind of a new day for us, moving into the modern age, I guess. There's so much history in this building, so to use this building and to have a name like Bussell Island is just fabulous for us," said Ledbetter.

She hopes the new concept will capture more people going to and from the mountains.

"This time of year is a great time for families to come and Highway 321 is a direct route from I-40 to the Smoky Mountains, so they're going to be coming right by here anyway. It's just going to be a fabulous stop on the way to the mountains."

Brian Pierce, a Knoxville architect, will be in charge of the interior design of the multi-purpose attraction. He is also one of eight partners in the venture. He says it will be called Bussell Island Brewing and Distilling, after the former local Bussell Island Ferry. While the next twelve months will be filled with work and expense, Pierce says they have the team to pull it off.

"Of our partners, we've got one guy who is a distilling expert, one guy is a brewing expert, we've got an attorney, we've got a restaurateur. Everybody's got their expertise in helping us pull this thing together," Pierce said.

He said in addition to the eating and drinking aspect to the building, there will also be a tasting room for tourists and a shopping spot for people to browse and buy. Pierce says their in the legal stage of setting up the distillery and brewery as well as the real estate transfer with Lenoir City. The next step, according to Pierce, is the design phase. 

Mayor Aikens says the city opted to give the old utility building to the group of partners. They'll also qualify for up to $7,500 in grants for renovating the building. Aikens says it's "a good partnership for economic development."

"If something unforeseeable happens, the building goes back to the city," Aikens added.

Pierce doesn't yet know the projected cost of the venture and says there is a lot of demolition to do before he knows the full extent of the work that's needed to be done.

"We think it's going to be a really big draw for the downtown. We think it's going to be kind of the center piece for the revitalization of downtown, talking to some of the downtown businesses. They're very, very excited about what this can do," he said. "It's a leap of faith. I mean it is, it is. You've got to put yourself out there."

He explains prior to the state legislature's approval, Lenoir City only allowed liquor by the drink. Because of the city population, the mayor explains, it took state approval for the production of beer and spirits. He says, as mayor, his job is to make sure the town is growing, adding he's "concerned about keeping taxes at lowest level possible."

The Lenoir City School System stands to benefit the most, he explains. He says the schools receive 75 cents for every tax dollar collected by the city.

"Lenoir City is a small town and we're wanting everybody we can get to come downtown. it's important to support these businesses," he said. There is no word on exactly how many jobs the project will create.