Alicyn Hart said she will never move a restaurant again — but she’s also hopeful she won’t have to. The former proprietor of the popular Cazenovia restaurant Circa, that closed its Albany Street doors more than one year ago due to rising rent costs, is planning to reanimate her signature establishment in a new building and a new location early next year — on Route 20 East at the four corners of Nelson.

The new Circa will be located on the ground floor of the 150-year-old Federal style building on the corner of Route 20 and Erieville Road. Its 1,100 square feet of space will retain the original Circa feel and look, with an open kitchen, counter seating, lots of natural light and about 10 tables/40 seats, Hart said.

It will be a part of the two-building commercial venture being created by Nelson resident Nancy Demyttenaere — to be called Nelson Corners — that will have Circa in one building and a coffee roaster, nanobrewery and cigar shop in the neighboring building.

“Inviting Alicyn Hart and Circa to join us was the very first thought I had after taking on the new corner building for Nelson Corners,” Demyttenaere said. “Our emphasis is building a collaborative business environment for our little corner of life, so Circa and Alicyn were a perfect match. And we are thrilled she said yes.”

“I’m excited about getting Nelson back on the map,” Hart said. “We’ve gotten a great response from the neighbors and the residents of Nelson; there’s been very few objections that I’ve heard about. People are pretty excited … I just think it will be an attractive destination spot.”

That destination attraction will include not only the incoming Nelson Corners businesses, but also the existing attractions of Nelson Farms and The Nelson Odeon on the other side of Route 20.

“Soon you’ll come to Nelson for a nice dinner, see a show at the Odeon, do a little shopping at Nelson Farms and pick up an amazing coffee from Peaks Coffee Co. The brewery is still in development and, of course, Naughty Mary’s [cigar shop] will come on line after I retire in December 2016,” Demyttenaere said.

Demyttenaere approached Hart last winter about moving her restaurant to Nelson and becoming a part of the Nelson Corners project, but Hart was already considering the possibility of moving Circa into the former Caz Fitness location at 51 Albany St., so she passed on the idea, she said. But when that idea did not materialize — and that was after a proposal to move Circa into Eric Burrell’s building at 4 Chenango St. was dropped due to vociferous neighbor opposition — Hart said she reconsidered.

After further discussions, Hart and Demyttenaere reached an understanding and signed a letter of intent, and interior demolition of the building at 3264 Route 20 East began in August. The past two months have been stripping the inside to the “bare bones” to “see what we have to work with,” Hart said. “It’s not very conducive to a restaurant floor plan.” Now they are working to re-lay the floor, heighten the ceiling for oven exhaust fans and create the basic infrastructure needed for a commercial building, she said. The specifics for Circa are not yet decided, but Hart and Demyttenaere both agree they want to retain the original Circa feel while also honoring the historic character of the building.

“Nancy’s idea is historical preservation and to bring it back to community grandeur, and to not let these buildings decay and become nothing. We want to honor that original commitment,” Hart said.

For the winter of 2015-16, the new Circa will be under construction, and Hart will resume her chef duties at Toggenburg Mountain, where she worked last winter.

The plan is for Circa to reopen its doors as part of Nelson Corners in spring 2016.

“I think it’s the right thing to do. I’m not in a real rush this time around. … Spring’s a much better time to open,” Hart said.

More information about Circa-New American Bistro and Nelson Corners can be found on Facebook by searching for their respective names.