Historic Emory Bryant Home on Lake Wire, once slated for demolition, will now be restored

Lakeland developer Gregory Fancelli has ended a local debate over what should qualify as historic by purchasing a 1925 Lake Wire home slated for demolition.

At the end of April, Fancelli purchased 401 W. Peachtree St., a two-story, single-family home known as the Emory Bryant House that overlooks Lake Wire. The sale price has yet to be posted on Polk County Property Appraiser's website.

Significant debate over its historic value erupted when Lakeland commissioners split 5-2 on approving the demolition of the structure to make way for 32 apartments.

"I told my fellow [Historic Lakeland Inc.] members that the Peachtree Street building was not going anywhere," he said.

Fancelli said he has fond memories of eating dinner there when it was home to Zohra's Lakeside Restaurant sometime between 2006 to January 2011. It's sat vacant ever since.

Jason Lewis of Coda Development purchased the property under 401 W Peachtree LLC for $650,000 in October 2021. Lewis got a zoning change approved by Lakeland in hopes of knocking the building down to construct an apartment complex with a mix one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Lakeland commissioners and city staff sought a way to save the structure from its fated date with a wrecking ball. Former City Attorney Tim Campbell mentioned contacting Historic Lakeland Inc. to see if there would be someone interested in buying the building to relocate it.

Fancelli has previously worked with Lewis to relocate a 1920s Craftsman bungalow-style home from Orange Street to Lime Street, making way for the Valencia at the Park Apartments that is now pre-leasing units.

Fancelli had reached out to Lewis previously to express interest in the property, but it went nowhere. In November, Fancelli said he received a call from Lewis asking him if he was still interested.

There are no current plans to relocate the Lake Wire home.

"The building needs a good deal of attention," Fancelli said. "There are leaks from the roof and other serious items that need to be addressed."

The first order of business will be getting into the home, drying it out and making sure the building is adequately secure, Fancelli said. Then it will be off to the drawing board to reimagine what its future might be.

"It would be nice to have a business there, maybe food and beverage," he said. "It's always a way to draw people to the neighborhood, or any type of development really."

One concern is that the health and safety codes for restaurants and other food-related venues have changed a great deal in the past 20 years, Fancelli said. He's not sure whether it would legally meet the requirements needed to safely operate again as a restaurant.

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One option Fancelli said he's considering is reverting it to a home-office type use, which he said would be an easier renovation.

A deciding factor in his decision will be what happens on an adjacent property that was formerly an assisting-living facility, now owned by Tampa-based Fensalier Real Estate. Co-owner Greg Wilkerson originally told The Ledger the plan was to build a four-story apartment building with 84 units, though it has not yet broken ground.

Ideally, Fancelli said he'd like to see the property become a mixed-use development that adds to the community.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @ SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Historic Emory Bryant Home on Lake Wire, once slated for demolition, will now be restored