The new owner of a downtown York City building wants to transform the vacant structure into a sports bar and restaurant.

Eric Hyatt, a developer from Owings Mills, Md., purchased 248, 250 and 252 N. George St. -- collectively known as the Station House -- a few months ago. The building is near Sovereign Bank Stadium, where York's independent-league baseball team plays.

Baseball fans are a natural customer base for a future sports bar, Hyatt said. He's also hoping to benefit from the building's proximity to the Northwest Triangle project, a city-driven attempt to revive an old industrial section of York with market-rate apartments and new commercial space.

Hyatt's plan to capitalize on the momentum of recent development projects is just the kind of "ripple effect" Kevin Schreiber and his staff work to create. If not for the stadium and nearby Codo apartments, Hyatt might not be as eager to invest, said York's economic and community development director.

"This is the essence of economic development," Schreiber said.

Hyatt said he owns a few properties in York -- including the building that houses Gloria's Grocery and Lottery next door to the Station House -- but, he said, this would be his most ambitious project in the city so far.

"I'm going to develop it, make it market-ready so that a tenant can move in," Hyatt said.

The history:According to a 2003 article in The York Dispatch, the Station House Restaurant & Bar closed in 2003, a few years after the death of owner Jim Ward. Ward's widow sold the building and the bar's liquor license to Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff, according to the article.

Hyatt said he bought the building from a different owner. The liquor license was not available, so a future tenant would have to acquire one, he said.

Renovation of the two-story building is under way, he said. Hyatt said he is hopeful a tenant could move into the Station House late this year or early next year.

-- Reach Erin James at 505-5439 or ejames@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter @ydcity.