Light seeps through a barred window of the old Millard Heath building on Hickory Street and bounces off exposed brick walls and wooden eaves.

It’s a cold December day, and Greg Johnson, a broker at Elk River Real Estate, steps into what was the boiler room of a laundry business decades ago, surveying the preparation to put plumbing into a space that has never housed utilities before.

DRC/Candice Carlisle

Elk River Real Estate is converting 221 E. Hickory St. into a restaurant and office space. The company plans to leave the exposed brick walls and wooden eaves and use the natural lighting in the building, which used to be a laundry and housed Millard Heath Services several years ago.

Concrete has been pried up where needed, but the investment group said it would preserve as much of the building as it could, including the 1949 stamp on the floor of the boiler room — a monument to the year it was added to the main building.

Although previous owners have had plans for the building over the years, the former Millard Heath Services building east of the Square has remained an echo to the past as a vision for an arts corridor in the city of Denton’s master plan has gone largely unrealized.

But after Elk River closed on the 6,410-square-foot building in November for an undisclosed amount of money, the future of the building along with the dream of creating a walkable entertainment district was once again revived.

Elk River is estimated to own about 50,000 square feet of building space downtown, all of which the company is determined to leave in better condition than it was found, Johnson said.

Renovating the old Millard Heath building is expected to take half a million dollars to bring it into working condition for a restaurant or office, he said.

Urban development isn’t only about renovation, but fitting a lifestyle like Denton’s seamlessly into those buildings, Johnson said.

“My opinion of Denton is the lifestyle is a neat mix of professionals, families and the arts,” Johnson said. “Denton has so much as far as music and community.”

Pulling food and music together is natural in Denton, Johnson said, pointing to the success of nearby businesses on Industrial Street, including Dan’s Silverleaf, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and Rooster’s Roadhouse.

And as the time nears for the Denton County Transportation Authority to open up its rail transit center off East Hickory in 2010, it’s time to start promoting musical and arts destination opportunities on Hickory, said Mayor Mark Burroughs.

“It’s not on a council level, but I intend to bring it forward and create a district that Denton can become known for, one that will make that part of the city and downtown a destination,” Burroughs said.

Moving the idea from a conceptual stage to an actual arts district has been outlined in the city’s master plan for some time, but the debate on how best to do that has stalled out some business owners’ dreams over the years.

An entertainment district can be done this time around, Johnson said, because the businesses interested in leasing space from Elk River are catering to the Denton consumer by keeping food prices reasonable and the restaurant options quirky.

“We’re focused on independent retailers,” Johnson said. “No high-end steakhouse, but something the average Denton consumer can afford, in the $10 price point.”

The average Denton consumer also doesn’t want national chain restaurants downtown, preferring to eat at small, local chains or independent restaurants, he said.

Two businesses are already scheduled to open for business next year: Cold Fusion Lounge in January and HotBox Pizza in February, both in Elk River-owned shops at the corner of Hickory and Industrial.

Cold Fusion Lounge will open in the former location of Eisley’s Hookah Lounge with an improved sound system and wrap-around seating that owner Scott Settles describes as “very lounge-y.” The jazz-only nightclub will offer both hookahs and drinks.

The Denton location of HotBox Pizza will be the first in Texas, Johnson said. The Indianapolis-based pizzeria has four other locations and chose Denton because of its student demographic, he said.

“We’re focused on independent retailers — the people we talk to are bullish on Denton,” Johnson said.

Although a restaurant for the front of the old Millard Heath building has yet to be leased, the back end of the building has already been let out for office space to a company that plans to use the old laundry steam room as a conference room.

As Johnson exits the boiler room, past the heavy wood and metal door that once trapped vapor inside, he points to all the attributes of the building that he says Elk River will preserve.

“It’s not only to make Denton a pretty place — the better downtown is, the better it is for everyone,” he said.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.