Dwyer bought the building in July after its most recent occupant, the Great Circle behavioral health organization, moved out. After its use as a convent ended in the mid-1980s, the building was a residential facility and office for Boys Town of Missouri. The building has an interior courtyard and a chapel later used as a conference room.

In September, the city condemned the building for occupancy as a result of a fire in an electrical panel.

Dwyer, through his Maidstone Ventures LLC, paid $300,000 for the building, according to documents filed with the city’s Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority. He plans to raze the structure and replace it with five townhouses for about $2 million.

The developer plans to market the homes for $675,000 to $700,000.

Private financing for the project is planned but property tax abatement is in the mixture. The LCRA board voted at its meeting Dec. 13 to support the project with five years of 50 percent tax abatement followed by five years of 25 percent abatement. The existing building’s assessed value is $29,700. Alderman Lyda Krewson, whose 28th Ward encompasses the site, supports Dwyer’s tax abatement request.