New Belleville lofts blend building’s historic features with modern ‘high-end’ comforts

Mike Koziatek
·6 min read

New, upscale loft apartments are nearly complete in a former pharmacy building that includes a section originally constructed in the 1800s in downtown Belleville.

It’s all part of the Gilpin brothers’ march to convert neglected, vacant Belleville buildings into vibrant places to live and work.

Karl Gilpin and his brother, Vic Gilpin of Tygracon Properties Inc., said the finishing touches are being applied in 12 apartments on the second and third floors of the former Schaufler’s Pharmacy building at 300 E. Main St. in downtown Belleville. The apartments were built where doctors and dentists once had offices.

Tenants are expected to begin moving into the apartments later this month. A couple of years ago, the Farnsworth Group, an architectural and engineering firm based in Bloomington, moved into offices on the first floor of the building.

The apartments are known as “300” in a nod to the building’s street address.

“I think it’s a good addition, especially for downtown, and I think it’s going to be extremely popular,” Mayor Patty Gregory said of the Gilpin’s development.

Gregory lauded the Gilpin brothers for the “beautiful” homes and apartments they have developed in the city.

In recent years, the Gilpins’ Belleville renovation projects of older buildings include apartment buildings on North 96th Street and Walnut Street as well as a duplex on East D Street. Also, Karl Gilpin’s wife, Magda Gilpin, opened Grafted Wine Bar & Lounge in a vintage brick home on Washington Street in downtown in 2021. Karl and Magda Gilpin live in an historic district on Garfield Avenue near downtown.

Tygracon next plans to tackle a brick, single-family home on Park Avenue.

The rehabilitation of older, vacant buildings in Belleville is known as the “in-fill” program by city officials.

Apartment features

The 300 complex is at the corner of Church and Main streets and features six units on the second floor and six on the third floor.

From newly installed skylights in all of the third floor units to sparkling LED fireplaces to quartz countertops, the apartments have “high-end” everything, according to the developers.

Some of the units have exposed brick from walls constructed in the 1800s. The rooms along Main Street offer commanding views of street scenes and Belleville’s popular parades and street festivals.

Other features include: state of the art soundproofing, high efficiency heating and cooling systems, two off-street parking spaces for each unit and ovens with an air fryer. Two units on the south side of the building have balconies. Also, an outdoor common area and basement storage are on the drawing board.

“I think the key thing is they are the nicest apartments in Belleville,” Karl Gilpin said. “They’re right downtown on the hottest section of Belleville.”

Some of the defining characteristics of the apartments at 300 E. Main St. are the in-unit exposed brick and the views of Belleville’s downtown.
Some of the defining characteristics of the apartments at 300 E. Main St. are the in-unit exposed brick and the views of Belleville’s downtown.

Vic Gilpin added that the apartment residents can walk to numerous downtown bars and restaurants that have thrived in the past several years.

The monthly rent costs from $1,350 to $1,850, according to listings on Zillow. For more information, go to the Facebook page for Tygracon Properties Inc.

Apartment building development

The Gilpins originally started working on the 300 apartments in 2018 but there were various delays including losing a year due to manpower and material supply chain issues during the COVID pandemic and the installation of a new water line under East Main Street.

They initially valued the project at $1.5 million but the final tab remains undisclosed.

“It was a bit more than that,” Karl Gilpin said with a laugh.

Tygracon, which gets its name from the first names of sons of the company’s founders, Tyler, Grant and Connor, was granted tax breaks by the Belleville City Council more than five years ago but Karl Gilpin said they have not filed a claim for these yet since a final occupancy permit has not been issued.

Once the apartments are occupied,Tygracon will file for the tax incentives, which include $60,000 from the District 17 Tax Increment Fund to be distributed over a four-year period and a 50 percent rebate of the property tax increases directly related to the building renovation for 10 years, or the end of the TIF 17, whichever occurs first, according to a development agreement.

Vic and Karl Gilpin stand in front of their building at 300 E. Main St., which will soon be host to upscale apartments in addition to an already operating commercial firm in downtown Belleville.
Vic and Karl Gilpin stand in front of their building at 300 E. Main St., which will soon be host to upscale apartments in addition to an already operating commercial firm in downtown Belleville.

Belleville Finance Director Jamie Maitret said the city’s obligations in the development agreement have been fulfilled. This included improvements to the sidewalk and parking lot around the building.

Soon after the Gilpins first spotted the building as a possible development site for downtown apartments, they said the late Mayor Mark Eckert reached out to them and introduced them to the city’s department heads in a meeting.

Karl Gilpin said Eckert told them city officials “would do whatever they could to help make this project happen.” He added that the transition from Eckert’s administration to Gregory’s in 2020 was seamless.

To acknowledge Eckert’s support of Tygracon’s renovation projects in the city, Gilpin said he asked Rita Eckert, the former mayor’s widow, to cut the ribbon for the 300 apartments during a ceremony on Nov. 9.

“This is far and away the biggest project we’ve ever done,” Gilpin said. “It had a lot to do with Mayor Eckert being our cheerleader to get us started.”

From jewelry store to pharmacy

The corner of Church and East Main streets was the home of The Knapp Stores beginning in 1891, according to research by Bob Brunkow, the historian for the Belleville Historical Society.

Brunkow found an advertisement in the Aug. 16, 1930, edition of the Belleville News-Democrat that highlighted the Knapp family business.

Over the years, the Knapp family offered jewelry, pianos and furniture.

In 1955, Schaufler’s Pharmacy was established on the Church Street side of the property, Brunkow said.

That’s when the building’s exterior aluminum panels and a brick veneer apparently were added as part of the makeover of a 19th century building.

The building has features of the International Style of architecture that eliminated most architectural details and favored horizontal and vertical lines, Brunkow said.

In 1971, Schaufler’s Pharmacy expanded east after tearing down the adjacent building. This new section followed the exterior pattern of the original part of the pharmacy except that real brick was used, Brunkow said.

Tygracon kept the aluminum siding because the developers like the “retro” look. As they gutted the building, they removed most of the blue-green glass block windows that Schaufler’s Pharmacy had and replaced them with new windows. However, two sets of the glass block windows and a couple of light fixtures on the Church Street side were kept for the 300 apartments.

Some of the stuff pulled out of the building to make way for the apartments included old dental chairs.

And for the generations of Belleville residents who went to the Schaufler’s Pharmacy building for the dentist or doctor, they could get a treat at the pharmacy’s lunch counter if they needed to relax after a stressful appointment.

Inside of the luxury apartments at 300 E. Main St. in Belleville, Ill. on Nov. 8, 2023. All units are equipped with state-of-the-art appliances and those on the top floor have skylights. “The exposed brick is the only old thing left in the building,” owner Karl Gilpin said.
Inside of the luxury apartments at 300 E. Main St. in Belleville, Ill. on Nov. 8, 2023. All units are equipped with state-of-the-art appliances and those on the top floor have skylights. “The exposed brick is the only old thing left in the building,” owner Karl Gilpin said.
Inside of the Farnsworth Group offices at 300 E. Main St. in Belleville, Ill. on Nov. 8, 2023. The roughly 5,000-square-foot bottom floor of the building is used as a commercial architecture and engineering firm.
Inside of the Farnsworth Group offices at 300 E. Main St. in Belleville, Ill. on Nov. 8, 2023. The roughly 5,000-square-foot bottom floor of the building is used as a commercial architecture and engineering firm.
Inside of the Farnsworth offices at 300 Main St. in Belleville, Ill. on Nov. 8, 2023. The roughly 5000 sq. ft. bottom floor of the building is used as a commercial architecture and engineering firm.
Inside of the Farnsworth offices at 300 Main St. in Belleville, Ill. on Nov. 8, 2023. The roughly 5000 sq. ft. bottom floor of the building is used as a commercial architecture and engineering firm.
This file photo from 2018 shows the building at 300 E. Main St. in downtown Belleville before Tygracon Properties Inc. built 12 “high-end” apartments on the second and third floors.
This file photo from 2018 shows the building at 300 E. Main St. in downtown Belleville before Tygracon Properties Inc. built 12 “high-end” apartments on the second and third floors.