EDGEWATER — The vacant former Edgewater Lounge could be transformed into a new business that would make the neighborhood "happy" once an ownership transfer is completed, an attorney representing new owners said.
The property at 5600 N. Ashland Ave. is one of the community's oldest saloon locations, pre-dating Prohibition, and served as the Edgewater Lounge for 15 years before closing in June 2015. The building is also supposedly haunted.
In June, the bar's mortgage was bought by Seggio Developments LLC, who lists Skokie-based attorney David Dordek as its agent and well-known developer Gino Battaglia as its manager.
Battaglia could not be reached for comment, but Dordek said while the foreclosure continued to advance through the court system, he couldn't say what plans were in store for the site.
Whatever it will be would likely please the neighborhood, he said.
"I can say it will likely be consistent with what makes the neighborhood happy," Dordek said.
Battaglia has become known for his work in the Humboldt Park area, particularly on transforming the California-Augusta intersection with new restaurants, cafes and shops.
In January 2015, Edgewater Lounge's owners were sued by their mortgage lender, which filed a motion to foreclose on the property, saying the owners had not paid back a $359,923.96 loan from August 2012, records show.
After the bar closed, the city also sued the owners in October over building code violations. In January, a judge ordered a real estate company to erect scaffolding around the bar and make repairs.
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