NORWICH – The City of Norwich will be partnering with DCMO BOCES and other entities to bring a new look to a house on Silver Street while also giving students in the BOCES building trades program an opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience.

The Norwich Common Council approved a measure during its regular December meeting that authorizes the city’s participation in the partnership. The end result, city officials say, will be an extensive facelift for a dilapidated tax foreclosed property located at 45 Silver Street. The house on site is proposed to be converted from a three-family apartment building to a four-bedroom, two and a half bath single-family home.

The project will come at a minimal cost to the city. Mayor Joseph Maiurano explained that the city will foot the cost of building supplies and some specialized services while labor – including carpentry, plumbing and electrical – is provided by BOCES students at no cost. When renovations are finished, the city will sell the house to a qualified purchaser without seeking a profit.

“Our hope is to beautify what’s become a blighted part of the neighborhood,” Maiurano said, noting that the city-owned house has been vacant and neglected for more than a year. “Hopefully we can help bring up the neighborhood to make it a more desirable place to live.”