On the evening of July 1, 2006, flames engulfed the Lincoln Apartments on Locust Street. Five years later, plans are finally underway to renovate the building in the heart of the Gayborhood.
At a zoning committee meeting of the Washington West Civic Association on Tuesday, architect Cecil Baker updated the committee on a proposal to redevelop the building, at 1222 Locust St., into residential apartments.
Baker, whose firm Cecil Baker and Partners Architects has been hired by building owner Jacob Ungar to spearhead the project, is a committee member and thus recused himself from any future votes on the proposal.
The proposed apartment complex will feature 44 residential units, which will be a mixture of studio, one- and two-bedroom spaces.
Firm principal Nancy Bastian explained that the majority will be one-bedroom or one-bedroom-plus units, which come with a den.
Further details are expected to be presented during the July 26 zoning committee meeting, 7 p.m. at 1001 Locust St.
Committee chair Carl Engelke said the plans are likely to be presented again in August and the committee could make recommendations on the project to the full civic association board in September.
Bastian said the design plans will be further developed in the coming months as the zoning process moves along, and she expects construction could begin in about six months.
“The owner is interested in pursuing this as quickly as possible,” she said. “The process has begun in earnest.”
The building has been vacant since the fire five years ago.
The Lincoln, which was built in 1892, housed about 50 apartment units but, at the time of the fire, about half were empty because they were being renovated into condominiums. No one was hurt, but at least one cat died in the five-alarm blaze.
The fire largely gutted the building and caused its partial collapse. The empty shell has since been a source of contention for neighborhood residents, who’ve complained about the criminal element it has attracted.
“It’s been causing some issues for five years now,” Engelke said.
Over the years, the civic association has put out numerous requests to Ungar and his company, Lincoln on Locust LP, to ensure the boarded-up windows are properly secured and to prevent people from loitering on the front steps.
Ungar’s company came before the committee twice in the past few years to present plans for redeveloping the property — once into residential units and another time into a hotel.
Both of those plans were stymied, however, as the insurance money the owner was waiting on from the fire was not made available until recently.
“The plans were back and forth twice but to no avail, so this will be the third time and hopefully the third time’s the charm,” Engelke said. “We’re certainly glad to hear the settlement has arrived and they’re ready to move forward.”
Ungar did not respond to a request for comment.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].