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But Deborah Penta, owner of Penta Com- munications in Westborough, saw an oppor- tunity. The entrepreneur had leased a modern office building up the road for years, and while it's made a fine marketing and communications office, the 1790 House was a place Penta felt she could make her own. The historic nature and architectural detail of the building were hard to resist. Penta learned that Paul Revere and Gen. Marquis de Lafayette both had stopped at the site when it was Wesson Tavern, across the highway on what was known as Powder Hill, before the structure was relocated to its current spot. Penta, who has a personal interest in interior design and offers such services to clients, revamped the stately building to reflect the company brand and create a bright, modern work environment. But all historic elements that have earned the building a place on the National Register of Historic Places were maintained. "It's sort of like we're blending the old and the new, and its all about the energy," Penta said. Penta's highly visible example of transform- ing an historic building into a modern-day office is just one of several throughout Me- troWest. While the process of bringing old properties up to present-day standards can be arduous, it's one that many find worth it, even if it's just for the charm. Niche properties Such was the case for Jim Levin, a Wellesley- based developer who revamped former mill buildings in Westborough and Holliston in the 1990s. The properties, on Water Street in Hol- liston and on Milk Street in Westborough, were renovated under the "adaptive reuse" philoso- phy, which means not all historic attributes were maintained through the process. Levin sold both properties by 2011, and he said he made a 26-percent return on invest- ment on the Westborough building, and a 20 MetroWest495 Biz | February 2014 BY EMILY MICUCCI t he day a "For Sale" banner went up outside the former 1790 House on Route 9 eastbound in Westborough was a sad one for many area natives who viewed the historic restaurant as a landmark. In MetroWest, trading modern buildings for historic space is anything but a step backward P h o t o S / E m i l y m i c u c c i Offices with wisdom built into the walls A conference room at the new offices of Penta Communications, in the former 1790 House on Route 9, was transformed with a modern color palette and lighting. But all architectural details, like the fireplace and mantle, were maintained. CEO deborah Penta said preserving the historic nature of the former dining room space was as important as making it usable for client meetings.