A new beginning for a downtown Monterey parcel once home to a historic building.

It’s one of the most historic building sites in Monterey, and even in California. But for the last eight years, it’s been an empty corner lot of prime downtown real estate, owned by the city of Monterey and waiting to be reborn.

That rebirth is finally imminent.

In the paved-over expanse at 595 Munras Ave., a space once home to an adobe known as “El Cuartel” – which housed offices of the Mexican alcalde (municipal magistrate) in pre-American times, and was home to the state’s first library – a new mixed-use development has been approved to break ground later this year.

For developers Doug Wiele and Carl Outzen, who were awarded the development contract by the city of Monterey, the project is among the most unique they’ve ever worked on.

The property has had only three owners, ever, says Wiele: the Mexican government, the U.S. government and the city of Monterey. “We’ve never seen another property like that,” Wiele says. “Historically, it’s a fascinating property.”

Wiele and Outzen won the contract after responding to the city’s 2006 request for proposals to develop the site. Outzen says theirs was met with approval by all 11 members of the city Planning Commission.

“It’s going to be a great building,” Outzen says. “It’s going to look like early Monterey architecture.” The building’s name, at least in the paperwork, is “El Cuartel Nuevo.”

Outzen estimates the project will cost about $2.2 million and should be completed by mid-2015. The adobe-finished building will have 5,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and 5,000 square feet of residential space on the second floor, divided into 10 units.

It’s a design that, according to Monterey Chief of Planning Chip Rerig, aligns with the city’s development goals.

“The city of Monterey is all about infill projects,” Rerig says. “This is an excellent development for the existing downtown.”

City officials inked the terms of the lease earlier this month. It will provide Monterey with a minimum of $55,000 in rent annually for 40 years. That’s slightly more than fair-market value, Rerig says, according to independent appraisers hired by the city.

For decades, the site had been home to a gas station (Exxon, then ExxonMobil). But in 2006, Monterey City Council decided it was time for a change.

Since then, there’s been an ongoing negotiation with ExxonMobil over remediation of the site, a process that wrapped up in recent weeks.

“‘Clean’ to oil companies has one meaning,” Wiele says. “To the state, it means something more stringent than that. For the County Health Department, it has another meaning entirely.”

The agreement that Wiele, Outzen and the city of Monterey reached with ExxonMobil requires the oil company to fund a barrier designed to prevent harmful vapors from rising up from the ground during construction. That’s a standard practice when building residential units atop former gas stations.

ExxonMobil has also agreed to pay any additional cleanup costs that may arise during construction.