When Bill Greiner retrofitted an office building on Route 101 for medical use, he improved the structure’s appearance, increased its assessed value, and added to the number of jobs in town.

Greiner, owner of Greiner Investments, is leasing his 188 Route 101 property to Catholic Medical Center, which shared the costs of renovating it. The building, slightly more than 9,000 square feet in size, is home to the Family Health & Wellness Center, a department of Catholic Medical Center that offers a family practice and general internal medicine. “We have several practices in Manchester and we always wanted to be down (Route) 101, out west, because we have a lot of patients in Bedford already,” said Bonnie McKellar, vice president of physician practices for primary care practices at CMC. “We heard from patients that they would love (for us) to have a presence out here. So we’ve been looking for a couple of years.”

Because of the building’s renovations and the lease rate with CMC, Greiner expects the property, currently assessed at a total of $898,800, to increase as much as 70 percent.

The building previously housed three tenants, one of which, Norwood Title Services, relocated to an older Greiner-owned building on an adjoining lot. Greiner has consolidated that lot and the one the wellness center sits on into one single two-acre lot.

“When CMC wanted to come in, we obviously had to retrofit it for medical (use) – pretty much ripping up everything and starting over,” said Greiner.

Other services are planned by CMC. A patient laboratory will soon open in the lower level. Massage therapy may be offered in the next few months. Next year, physical therapy may be offered.

The addition of an elevator was the renovation’s single largest expense. It allows CMC to have full access to the entire building. The building, which had ramps and handicapped-accessible doors added to it, had to be compliant with the federal Americans with Disability Act.

Because he expects CMC’s business to expand, Greiner plans to eventually knock down the older building, add as much as 10,000 square feet to the CMC-rented building and expand parking and septic to maximize the full lot.

Redevelopment of commercial property is considered an important part of economic development, according to several officials.

A chapter on economic conditions written to update the town’s master plan cites it as a factor that could increase the amount of nonresidential building space in town.

“It’s certainly been discussed in economic development conversations that have been going on,” said Rick Sawyer, the town’s planning director. “Clearly, it’s going to be an important piece of our planning process as we go forward.”

Some of the redevelopment projects on the horizon include the demolition of the C.R. Sparks Restaurant on Kilton Road for a Lexus dealership. There are conceptual plans to develop the Macy’s site, although those plans are on hold.

At 345 Route 101, the former site of the Aftan Kennels, a new 5,242-square-foot building will become the new location of Beals Insurance Agency. Owner Steve Beals is relocating his business there and will have office space for tenants.

“That’s another great project for the town,” said Town Councilor Bill Dermody.

The kennels operated on the site, at the intersection of Route 101 and Hardy Road, for many years until a fire three years ago destroyed most of the house. The barn on the site, believed to be built in the mid-1800s, was not damaged.

However, the barn’s interior beam structure was determined to be structurally unsound. It will be saved and exposed within the new building which will be constructed around the frame and will look the same as the old barn, according to Planning Board documents.

Renovating properties is something that Riley Enterprises has been doing in town for years. One of its current projects is converting an historic house at 189 S. River Road to commercial use.

The house, known as House No. 158 and believed to be built in the late 1700s or early 1800s, was once the home of Zachariah Chandler.

According to the Oct. 31, 1883, edition of the Bedford Messenger, Chandler moved to Detroit where he became a wealthy businessman and was elected mayor.

He represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate, and served as Secretary of the Interior in President Ulysses S. Grant’s cabinet. The house became an inn and tavern and was the first house of entertainment between Nashua and Concord. The famous furniture maker John Dunlap performed the carving and paneling and built an in-corner cupboard in one of the rooms. The work was later removed and placed in a Delaware museum as a display of fine New England cabinet making workmanship.

“We decided to try to save a piece of history of Bedford,” said company President Tom Riley.

Several contractors advised Riley and his son, Chris, the company’s vice president, to tear down the building. But the Rileys decided to fix up the property, deciding it could provide nice space for office/medical, specialty retail or restaurant/ tavern use.

“It’s coming out all right,” said Chris Riley. “It’s had its hurdles. Bedford doesn’t have an instrument in place to allow for antique commercial properties to bypass modern code for commercial use.”

Riley has relocated the house’s garage, provided paved parking spots for about 22 vehicles and has space for more. He’s also adding modern windows, an HVAC system, and insulation.