The Benicia Historic Preservation Review Commission will hear plans Thursday for the Commanding Officer’s Quarters, the 150-year-old building that Benicia spent more than $3 million to renovate and has been trying to lease ever since, to host a new business meetup company.

The building, called “The Queen of the Arsenal” by Benicia Historical Museum curator Beverly Phelan, was originally built to house the family of the Benicia Arsenal’s commander.

After the U.S. Army left the Arsenal in 1964 and the city gained custody of the property, it became a Bay Area destination restaurant until 1986, when a fire not only damaged the historic building but also revealed safety hazards that forced the building to be shuttered.

After the extensive repairs and restoration, the building became available Feb. 10, 2010, to prospective tenants. It has been on the market for leasing since then.

Carter Rankin, founder of Carter’s Biz Cafés, said he expects to open in the Commanding Officer’s Quarters this summer. It would be his first location, with others planned for Fremont, Emeryville, Mountain View, San Francisco and Oakland.

According to his website, cartersbizcafes.com, the cafés are for “mobile, work-from-home professionals and knowledge workers,” providing concierge service, video conferencing, meeting rooms, office machines, staff, hospitality opportunities, classes and more.

If he gets the necessary approvals, Carter said, “Our goal is to create an ecosystem of ‘Membership Cafe’ locations,” adding that his company has partnerships with AT&T, MeetUp, Kimbo Realtors, Cisco/Polycom, Infocus white board technology, Livemocha language classes, Plantronics and Vidtel HD videoconferencing.

His presentation to the HPRC on Thursday is informational only, and the panel won’t be voting on any of his plans.

Rankin is negotiating with the city for his lease, but he described his vision to the Economic Development Board in February, and will do the same before the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission in April.

The HPRC will vote on three applications that night.

• A design review request is for a two-story, 460-square-foot rear addition and two single-story enclosed porches to Stephen David’s bed and breakfast at 145 East D St.

The additions also will require a variance to the rear yard setback, which must be reviewed by the Planning Commission.

The bed and breakfast, The Inn at Benicia Bay, was built in 1900 as a two-story home. It has been a bed and breakfast since 1985, and has use permits for outdoor weddings, live entertainment and a restaurant.

Various additions since its initial construction has led the California Department of Parks and Recreation to decide it no longer contributes to Benicia’s downtown historic district.

David said he wants to expand the restaurant’s kitchen from 100 square feet to 365 square feet, expand a second-story guest room and enclose two patios to provide additional dining space.

Amy Million, principal planner, said the project is consistent with Secretary of Interior Standards, the Downtown Historic Conservation Plan, the Downtown Mixed Use Master Plan and the city’s General Plan, and has recommended approval.

• Phil Joy will ask permission to replace four aluminum-clad windows with those clad in wood, and install wood lap siding on the side façades of his building at 305 First St.

The two aluminum-frame sliding windows are on the north and south sides of the building, a contributor to Benicia’s downtown historic district and the site of Rosanna’s European Delights bakery.

Joy said the wood-framed windows would be painted to mach the front façade’s color scheme.

The early-20th-century single-story building and its surrounding property originally were part of a lumber yard, according to maps from 1886 to 1942. The building later was modified for retail use.

Last year, it also was hit by a vehicle, and Joy has decided to seek design review approval for the wood windows and siding rather than repair the building with materials that aren’t original to the building.

Suzanne Thorsen, associate planner, has recommended approval.

• The panel also will decide whether to approve an addition of two wood-clad basement windows to the rear side of 155 West J St., which Thorsen also has recommended for approval.

Gary Arneson, who owns the Queen Anne house that is a contributor to the downtown historic district, has a Mills Act contract with the city that reduces his property taxes in exchange for maintaining the home in historically appropriate ways.

He has completed multiple required tasks associated with the Mills contract, Thorsen wrote in a report to the HPRC. She explained that the windows are “a simple, unobrusive design that will be compatible with the materials and overall appearance of windows on the home.”

Should the HPRC support Arneson’s request, the homeowner’s next Mills Act task is to repaint the exterior, his final outstanding job.

In other business, the HPRC will talk about its proposal to issue historic awards to acknowledge successful historic preservation efforts in Benicia.

The HPRC will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Commission Room of City Hall, 250 East L St.