Toward the end of January last year, gas could be smelled and smoke seen billowing from the windows of an apartment building located at 608 E. Chalmers St.

All signs pointed to a fire being set — either accidentally or intentionally — in the apartment building, with it being demolished the following month. 

This was not actually the case, Champaign Deputy Fire Marshal Jeremy Mitchell said in an interview.

“Prior to its demolition, the building was made available to Champaign Fire for hands-on training, including fire hose deployment, ventilation and victim search,” Mitchell said. “In acquired structures we use simulated smoke from a fogging machine, so from the sidewalk I can see how someone would have thought that the building was really on fire.”

Thus, the apartment building was not demolished as a result of a total fire event. Rather, the building was always going to be demolished to construct a new seven-story apartment complex, complete with 115 units.

Fairlawn Capital, owners of Smile Student Living and the 608 E. Chalmers St. apartment building, applied for a demolition permit on Jan. 16, 2024, with said permit being approved on Jan. 30 by the City of Champaign.

The building was subsequently demolished in early February. Several permits for the new apartment complex would then be filed and approved in the following months, including those pertaining to electricity, plumbing and sanitation.

The new apartment complex will house a variety of apartment sizes, ranging from studio to four-bedroom units, and will include underground parking. It will also have a rooftop deck and conference rooms on the first floor, according to the Smile Student Living website.

St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church and Campus Center, located at 909 S. Wright St. and adjacent to the building on Chalmers, was also demolished. Built in 1956, the nearly 70-year-old St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church and Campus Center faced costly repairs of its aging facilities like the roof and heating system. 

The church also lacked accessibility. The church’s fellowship space, for example, could only be accessed by a steep staircase that led down to the basement; not only was there no elevator, but said basement was often flooded.

The church partnered with Fairlawn Capital to file for the aforementioned demolition permit in an attempt to renovate and rejuvenate the outdated building. It will be incorporated into the new apartment complex located at 608 E. Chalmers St. and will occupy a portion of the first two floors of the new apartment complex.

Facing the corner of Chalmers and Wright Streets, the new St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church and Campus Center will additionally have its own entrance and elevator within Fairlawn Capital’s new apartment complex.

The new 608 E. Chalmers St. apartment complex is slated to open in August of this year. Smile Student Living is accepting applications for leases beginning as early as Aug. 22, 2025 on its website.