Residents of the nonprofit Apex cooperative in Belltown are locked in a legal battle with a furniture-store owner and a developer over the future of their hundred-year-old building.

The Apex, at Bell Street and First Avenue, is one of the city's oldest co-ops, founded with city and federal funding in the early 1980s. Members of the co-op own the upper half of the building, while Jim Egbert owns and operates Egbert's, a furniture store on the building's ground level and in the basement. Apex members—artists, educators, social workers, and truck drivers—pay a deposit and monthly dues ranging from $235 to $529 to effectively purchase their units—extremely affordable, considering the Apex's prime downtown location.

In 2006, developer Saltaire Construction bought the lot on the north side of the Apex to build a 34-unit condo complex. The company also approached Egbert, hoping to purchase his space. In June 2007, Saltaire partner Gerry Lacaille met with Apex members to discuss his project, talk about his potential plans for Egbert's space, and to see if the co-op was interested in selling the building. This, Apex residents say, is when things got testy.

Lacaille told the Apex residents that he wanted to open a restaurant in the building and, according to Apex board member Sean Brailey, "described himself as 'the new sheriff in town.' The Apex, as a nonprofit, wasn't part of his plan."

Lacaille's plan did involve turning some or all of Egbert's space into a restaurant, which presented some immediate problems for Apex members. Costs for building improvements are split between the owner of the ground-floor space and the Apex, and members were concerned about the costs they might incur from having to bring the building up to code to incorporate a restaurant. They also worried that the space would turn into yet another noisy Belltown nightclub. Apex's bylaws require member approval for any change of use in the building, so when Apex didn't get the answers from Lacaille they were looking for, they denied his request to change the space to a restaurant.

"They simply refuse to believe—which I take as an insult—[that] we have plans... to introduce a first-class, white-linen restaurant on the Egbert's level," Lacaille says. "I reach out as a new neighbor... and I got backstabbed. If there's tension between the co-op and our plans, it certainly doesn't come from our side."

Right now, things at the Apex are at a standstill, as attorneys for Egbert and Apex try to sort out the situation. Ultimately, the Apex would like to own the level Egbert currently occupies, but they say they're just as happy to have a restaurant move in, as long as they know what they're getting into.

Lacaille claims he's no longer interested in buying out the Apex and says the members should try to purchase Egbert's space. However, Apex members received a letter from Egbert's attorney on May 5 telling them they should not make an offer on the space because negotiations between Saltaire and Egbert were still underway.

Brailey says Apex is interested in codeveloping the building, but right now they're still trying to navigate an increasingly difficult legal situation. Lacaille, however, seems far less open to negotiation. "Change is inevitable," he says. "Change will happen in that building whether it's under my administration or Egbert's administration." recommended

jonah@thestranger.com