LEESBURG — Bryan Caracciolo likes history, but it’s the future he’s hanging his general contractor and developer hat on with the opening of a new bar, restaurant and upstairs apartments in downtown Leesburg.

“We like to rehabilitate and try to save places,” said the owner of Marmadukes Lodge at the corner of Third and Main. It is a $1.4 million investment for the Ocala businessman, showcasing the old and new, right down to some of the original bare brick walls.

He is one of three downtown building owners who have snagged $250,000 redevelopment grants from the city. “It doesn’t begin to pay for everything but it helps,” Caracciolo said.

The city also offers smaller matching grants of up to $25,000 for things like putting up a new façade. “A lot of people probably don’t know about it,” he said.

He’s not only excited about his project; he also urged a fellow Ocala businessman to open a Leesburg version of his Grampa Joe’s Candy Shop across the street. That popular store features what he calls “old school” candy, toys and other merchandise.

Marmadukes is scheduled to officially open May 17 after an earlier soft opening. He had more than 200 applicants for the 25 job openings.

It will feature live music in the main room downstairs, next to the bar’s brew barrels. Caracciolo also has created what he calls a “high-end speakeasy” with access that looks like a secret tunnel next door. That room will feature piped-in jazz from the Prohibition days of the 1920s.

With an eye toward utilizing every bit of space, there will be a small pizza shop called “Slice,” with a door leading to Third Street. Patrons can order pizza by the slice, a whole pie, or homemade milkshakes.

It might look old-fashioned, but customers in a hurry can place orders on an electronic scanner.

The six studio loft apartments upstairs will rent from $1,500 to $1,700, with utilities included. Those will be available in about a month.

“The upstairs had been abandoned for at least 15 years,” Caracciolo said. Everything has been updated, including plumbing and electrical systems.

“I go into it expecting the worst,” he said of renovation. Sometimes there are pleasant surprises. While replacing some of the 1920s lookalike tile downstairs, Caracciolo discovered part of an old brick roadway, probably dating to the 1800s. The current building was built in 1915.

He tips his hat in the speakeasy to Leesburg pioneers John and Mary Marmaduke Robertson with photos of the couple from the Civil War era.

Longtime Leesburg residents can see a big blowup color photo of the building in its earlier life, as Burns Drug Store, with 1950s cars cruising down Main Street.

Downtowns have undergone extensive changes and Leesburg is no exception. Merchants like J.C. Penney and Sears moved out when Lake Square Mall opened in the early 1980s. Lake Hardware, a popular, longtime fixture, was edged out by big box stores.

Pawn shops and thrift stores moved in, and later, antique stores. The 2008 recession and 2020 pandemic didn’t help.

But Caracciolo knows what it takes for a downtown to blossom: Restaurants and bars, atmosphere, foot traffic, and “living,” as he puts it: People living downtown.

“I see downtown Leesburg as the way Ocala was five or six years ago,” said Caracciolo, who owns the Lodge in Ocala. “There was 50 percent occupancy. Now, nothing’s available.”

He’s not the only one. Work is underway to add apartments to the third floor of the building that once housed the Palace Theater at 410 Main St. Two Old Hags Wine Shoppe is on the first floor, and Beacon College has offices on the second.

“We’ve invested $1 million and we think it’s good for the town, the college, everyone,” said Jeffrey Lawrence, the managing member of Palace Partners.

His firm hopes to complete the job of creating five or six two-bedroom apartments and three one-bedroom units.

“It’s never been used for apartments; it’s always been commercial,” Lawrence said.

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His firm has received a $250,000 grant and a smaller one to improve the façade.

“Our plan is to hold onto it long-term,” he said.

Next door, the owner of a former bank building, has also received a $250,000 grant.

“The town’s been wonderful to work with,” Lawrence said.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Leesburg Florida downtown redevelopment: Bar, restaurant, apartments