One of only five buildings on the Old State Capitol Plaza that remains from Lincoln’s time may soon be getting a new owner and a makeover.
The building at 518 E. Adams St. has been vacant since the last tenant, Di Piero’s Sicilan Cucina, closed at the end of 2024. Owner Pete Praia opened the downtown restaurant a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic and said his business never recovered from the shifts in consumer habits.
Bruce Ferry, owner of Ferry & Associates Architects and a former member of the Springfield Historic Sites Commission, gave a presentation at the February meeting of the city of Springfield’s Economic Development Commission regarding plans to preserve and restore the historic building. He said attorney Bruce Beeman, who he described as a client and longtime friend, has an option to purchase the property for $100,000.
“It’s in terrible condition,” Ferry said, noting that it needs structural repairs in addition to renovations. He told the commission that the building was previously under contract to a Chicago-based attorney who planned to open a satellite office in Springfield, but the buyer backed out after he learned the scope of work that would be needed.
In contrast, Ferry said that Beeman “has a fondness for historic structures” and is willing to take on the project. “He’s been successful with his business, and he’s interested in preserving historic Springfield,” Ferry said.
Beeman is a personal injury lawyer and partner with Wolter, Beeman, Lynch & Dennis LLP. The law firm’s office at 1001 S. Sixth St., just north of Springfield Clinic’s headquarters, is known as the Bunn-Sankey House. Beeman bought the 1883 property, which was vacant and in disrepair, from the Heritage Foundation in 2008 and spent 18 months completely renovating it. The law firm previously operated out of an 1860s-era house across from the Lincoln Home site, which Beeman had also restored.
Ferry told the commission that plans for 518 E. Adams St. will focus on returning it to productive use while honoring its historic significance, including emphasizing the Lincoln-era history. According to historians, it is the site where Abraham Lincoln learned he had been elected president on the night of Nov. 6, 1860. During the 1850s and 1860s, it housed W.W. Watson & Sons Confectionary.
Ferry said the proposed redevelopment is to make the first floor a tourist-oriented space and gallery for local artists, while the second floor would be an approximately 2,100-square-foot apartment. The total project is projected to cost $1,250,747 and Beeman is requesting $875,523 in assistance from the Central Area TIF District.
“I think it’s worthy of an investment; my only question is how much that investment should be,” said Mark Vance, a regional president for Carrollton Bank who chairs the city’s EDC. “I wouldn’t want to provide TIF funds that makes it worth more than the owner puts in.”
In response, Ferry said that Beeman will most likely be “upside down to the tune of $300,000” after completing the project. He reminded the commission that the 100,000-square-foot Myers Building in downtown Springfield sold less than a year ago for $500,000.
The EDC did not have a quorum at the February meeting, so no vote was taken. Once a vote does occur, the non-binding recommendation will be forwarded to the Springfield City Council for a final vote to determine whether TIF funds will be awarded. The next EDC meeting is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4, at Lincoln Library.