Warehouse no more

Work is under way on Northgate project, now headed by new owners.

Jon Rutter is a staff writer for the Sunday News. His e-mail address is jrutter@lnpnews.com.

Photographer Ginna Sabol was "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing during a private tour of the Northgate condominium project last week.

Those tree-trunk like chestnut beams.

Those stately 14-foot ceilings.

That vivid landscaping.

It's been a while since the long-stalled commercial and residential redevelopment project has generated so much excitement.

But the property, which was foreclosed on by Susquehanna Bank last year after the original developer ran out of money, has been sold.

The new owners, Marilyn Berger, Lou Naumann and his wife, Pamela Bazella — partnering as The Hammer Group — have bold plans.

They intend to soon bring to fruition many of the original ideas for the tract bounded by North Queen, East Lemon and North Christian streets.

Renovation of the centerpiece 19th-century warehouse at 336 N. Christian St. is already under way, said Berger, who owns Berger Real Estate Inc.

An overhaul of six East Lemon Street row houses will be part of the package, and one option for the remaining open land at Queen and Lemon is to fill it with a public "Northgate Car Park."

Workers also are slated to finish converting two brick-facade storefronts, 341-45 N. Queen St., into residential and commercial units.

A total of 15 new condominiums will be created, and the living area will be fenced.

Berger said her real estate business is already looking for buyers for the luxury residences, which can be customized to clients' needs.

Sabol and her husband, Mike, who have been hired to create marketing materials for the property, stopped by for a look while a reporter was visiting last week. "This is going to be fun to watch from beginning to end," she said.

Jack Segro, the longtime owner of Segro's Lancaster Hairport barber shop, 358-360 N. Queen St., has been monitoring the flurry of activity across the street with renewed optimism.

"They're going to town," he said of the workers visible on the property. "That [sale of the tract] was a surprise move. It should stimulate this block. It's great news, that's for sure."

The idled revitalization project had, until recently, been a bad news story of unrealized potential.

Northgate was launched three years ago with a gala featuring jazz, wine and hors d'oeuvres.

The warehouse was subdivided into condos, and the two second-floor units were sold and occupied.

Then the enterprise hit a snag.

In the winter of 2009, the initial developer, Steven R. Messner, was sued for defaulting on his $2.4 million mortgage on the city property. Messner also was sued for breach of contract by Lancaster's Kreider & Diller Builders Inc.

Liens against Northgate were extinguished when it left Messner's hands, allowing the new owners to use the property free and clear, Woolford said.

Lititz Properties LLC sold Northgate to The Hammer Group June 4.

The project was privately financed by Camp Hill-based Integrity Bank, which will soon open a branch in Lancaster County, Berger said.

She said it will end up costing in excess of $3 million to buy and finish construction of Northgate.

Condo prices will range from "the mid-$200,000s to the high $800,000s," Berger said.

In the last three weeks, the courtyard fronting the warehouse has been transformed by infusions of grass and flowering landscape plants. An irrigation system has also been installed.

"We just came in and went at a fast pace," Berger said.

"I lost 5 pounds" the first day working on the site, Naumann quipped.

Cox Evans Architects has been retained as the project's designer.

Last week, carpenters were working on the first floor of the warehouse, which will be a single condo of about 4,000 square feet, complete with fireplaces and custom-crafted cabinetry.

The spacious aerie on top of the building is being split into two units of 1,800 and 2,200 square feet, each boasting two bedrooms, two baths and the exposed, cantilevered wooden beams that formed the roof trusses before the third story was added.

The warehouse, which was a Studebaker automobile showroom in earlier days, includes ample storage areas and six basement parking spaces.

The building is so well-insulated that ordinary street sounds are inaudible.

"You've taken care of everything," Ginna Sabol told Berger and Naumann, "all the concerns that people have when they move into a condominium in the city."

Three condos will be created in the warehouse, six in the row houses and six in the storefront building.

Interest in the two commercial spaces is already high, according to Berger, who said she's received inquiries from a physical therapist, artist, chiropractor and Belgian beer seller.

"We've ruled out a restaurant" because of the proximity of established eateries and the undesirability of wafting food odors, Berger said.

A professional artist living above a gallery would be one example of a perfect fit, added Berger, who said she hopes to have the entire project completed by this time next year.

Should the economy improve, she added, The Hammer Group might pursue the original concept of building a condo tower on the Queen and Lemon corner.

Recently, Naumann said, some people picnicked on the tract, thinking it already was a park, even though it's still barricaded and covered with gravel. "This is [known as] a kind of safe corner," Naumann said.

It's practically home to Berger, who said she moved to the 400 block of North Queen Street after she married. She opened her first office at Duke and New streets, "a block down."

Now she's back. So is Northgate

"We think this is pretty neat," Berger said. "It's going to make the city proud."