With new developments opening on the east end of town and renewed life in the town center, Route One drivers may wonder when the town’s west end will follow suit. The short answer seems to be “not yet.”

After several years, there is still no buyer interested in the old Friendly’s building on West Main Street downtown. The Friendly’s store, which closed in 2012, is neighbored by several other buildings that are also currently in search of tenants.

“There were rumors at some point about things that may or may not have had interest in going in there,” said Clinton Zoning Enforcement Officer Eric Knapp. “My understanding is that none of that has panned out for the moment. There is no interest currently in those particular lots.”

Knapp said that the sites will remain inactive as long as no one is interested.

“There is nothing in front of Planning & Zoning or any other commissions in town regarding those sites,” he said. “Which means that at this point they are just going to sit where they are until somebody wants to put money in to do something with them.”

First Selectman William Fritz said that he hoped the new developments across the street would help spark interest in the vacant spaces.

“We are hoping that with the development across the street, that these spaces seem more attractive,” he said. “So far it [the development] has been very successful. The apartments are occupied, the retail space on the ground floor is occupied, and now he is starting on a third building.”

Fritz said the developer of the project, MJM, has a good reputation in Clinton.

“They have been in town for years, they have other developments in town,” he said. “They have a lot of storage units in town and he purchased up a couple piece of property and put an aggressive idea forward and got approved by the zoning board.”

While there has been limited interest in buying the abandoned Friendly’s building and adjacent empty lot, Fritz said the previous owners are very interested in selling.

“There has been heavy interest in selling,” he said. “The building that burned down [on the empty lot], the owner wants to sell and the [former Cashman’s] hardware store went out of business so he wants to sell.”

The owner of the old Friendly’s building has set an “impressive” asking price, according to Fritz, but he says the town is always willing to help bring in new owners.

“If somebody wants to buy those properties and develop on them, there are tax benefits the town can give them that would help out,” he said. “We would do that for anyone who wants to come in and put in a significant investment into the town.”