The Ribeyes Steakhouse slated for the Washington waterfront could be open by early May.

That’s what Justin Pate, one of the principals behind the project to locate the restaurant in the former Apollo’s Steakhouse building, told the Washington City Council on Monday after it authorized the mayor to sign a grant contract related to the project.

Last month, the North Carolina Department of Commerce — through its North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority — awarded a $25,000 building reuse grant for building renovations and upfit to Pates Food Group, the business entity preparing to open the seventh Ribeyes in eastern North Carolina. The city’s contribution to the project would be 5-percent of the grant amount, or $1,250.

Kevin Richards, the planning, economic development and community services director for the Mid-East Commission, said Ribeyes has 18 months to renovate the building at 228 Stewart Parkway. The Mid-East Commission helped prepare the grant application.

“The grant also requires a legally binding commitment and promissory note from the building owner, and the grant period is from Feb. 16, 2017, to Feb. 16, 2019,” Richards said.

A pre-application form lists Mark V.L. Gray, a Greensboro-based lawyer, as the property owner.

“Everything’s looking good. Speaking on the jobs, I’ve already hired a dozen people, and I want to hire another dozen more. … We’ll start renovations next week. We’re still shooting to open around the first of May,” said Pate, who, along with his father Larry Pate, is a partner in Pates Food Group, which has agreed to reimburse the city for its contribution to the project, according to Matt Rauschenbach, the city’s administrative services director and chief financial officer.

The project’s total renovation cost is estimated at $98,000, with the total project funding listed as $280,000 (private-sector investment), according to Rauschenbach. Proposed renovations include replacing the handicapped-accessible ramp with a lift system, changes to the kitchen area and an outdoor dining area where the existing ramp is located.

Grant documents indicate Ribeyes will create at least five new jobs once it opens in the building constructed in 1905 and which has been vacant two years. The Washington Ribeyes has six months to create at least five new jobs.

Ribeyes has locations in Beaufort, Cape Carteret, Snow Hill, Williamston, Tarboro, Henderson, Mount Olive, Greenville and Nashville.