A project to bring a brewery/restaurant and apartments to a historic building in downtown Washington is moving forward.

During its meeting Monday, the Washington City Council voted unanimously for the city to seek $500,000 in grant funds to help convert the building that once housed Fowle & Sons General Merchandise into a mixed-use building. New Vision Partners LLC has plans to convert the three-story building at 189 W. Main St. into a brewery/restaurant — Castle Island Brewery — on the ground floor, with residential use on the upper floors. The building’s rooftop would be used for dining purposes, John Rodman, the city’s director of community and cultural resources. Eight apartments, four on the second floor and four on the third floor, would be part of the project, according to Rodman. The residential part of the building is outside the scope of the Community Development Grant Project, Rodman noted.

The new business would contribute up to $200,000 toward the upfit and renovation of the building, according to Rodman. The $500,000 grant represents 71.4 percent of the project’s cost, he told the council.

The three-story building, constructed in 1900, contains 11,800 square feet. The building, at the southeast corner of West Main and Respess streets, has been vacant for several decades.

Council member William Pitt asked Rodman if the apartments would be “LMI.” (LMI stands for low-to-moderate income.)

“I’m not sure if it’s going to be LMI or market-ready apartments. I’m not sure yet,” Rodman responded.

In October 2014, the council amended the city’s zoning code to allow microbreweries in certain commercial districts.

In late 2014, the Historic Preservation Commission voted 3-2 to grant a certificate of appropriateness to New Vision Partners to install balconies on certain areas of the second and third floors of the building. The balconies plan, according to Trent Tetterton, who addressed the commission concerning the balconies, called for several of the building’s windows to be replaced by doors and for the doors to open to balconies. Tetterton, an official with the Washington Harbor District Alliance, has played a part in helping find buyers and/or developers for downtown properties.