Lyric Commons, an iconic commercial building on Main Street in Northampton’s uptown business district, has been sold for $300,000. The new owner envisions restoring the structure to encourage revitalization in the once-thriving business area.

Dominic Cullen, trading as The Lyric Commons LLC, purchased the property at 2015 Main St. from Carol Simcoe, who has been active in borough civic affairs for years and chaired the borough’s centennial committee.

Cullen, an engineer with offices in New York City, told The Press, “There already has been interest in the building. I have a meeting with a person talking of having a bar and/or restaurant.”

Other expressions of interest are also being developed since the building can house several commercial entities.

The rear section of the building can be rented as offices with a back entrance.

“I am thinking of bringing my engineering office here as a satellite office,” Cullen said.

Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce President Anthony Pristash, also a borough councilman, said, “I am really excited for Dominic’s plans. This will be great for the uptown and the community.”

He said the new ownership bodes well for the uptown business climate and added the Chamber is willing to do its part to help Cullen’s plans succeed.

Cullen said the building’s architecture and location first sparked his interest in purchasing the property. He mentioned there are some interior upgrades planned but nothing too drastic.

The structure, idle for several years, dates back to the 1920s. It got its start as a vaudeville theater, later becoming a movie theater showing silent films and sound/motion pictures. The theater then moved across Main Street and is now known as the Roxy Theatre.

The building served as a restaurant, complete with a soda fountain, and was a popular place in the 1940s and 1950s. It was also a bowling alley and, later, a bakery.