Two potential major tenants have expressed interest in the same commercial space in the newly restored Franklin Building.

Donald W. Rutherford, CEO of the Watertown Local Development Center, said Thursday that he's working with two potential anchors interested in leasing storefronts at the Franklin Building. His organization — also known as Watertown Trust — is responsible for finding tenants for the commercial space in the three-story building at 50 Public Square.

The subject came up Thursday morning at a WLDC board meeting.

Mr. Rutherford reported that two businesses have been eying the same 3,000 to 4,000 square feet of space, and one of the unidentified potential tenants wants him to hold the storefronts until the end of the month, because it needs to obtain approval from its corporate headquarters to sign a lease. The other unnamed business is equally interested but has some concerns about the availability of parking, he said.

"Both are very interesting," he said. "Both are not in a position to commit."

Mr. Rutherford said that he should know by the first of the month whether that commercial space will be leased, but he's still worried about losing both potential tenants.

He declined to comment on the types of businesses or whether they now exist in town, but described them as having 10 to 20 employees and being interested in multiple storefronts and space. If they are rented, it would leave three storefronts on the Franklin Street side and one on the Public Square side. Three other potential tenants have expressed interest in leasing other commercial space, he said.

Last week, Gary C. Beasley, executive director of Neighbors of Watertown, said that four or five unidentified potential tenants have looked at the building, saying they "were in the kicking-the-tire stage."

Neighbors obtained a state $1.55 million Restore New York grant and used $3.8 million in tax credits to help finance the $7.8 million project to renovate the building. Construction concluded last month.