It began life as Stothart Hotel. It most recently was the Mecca, an adult theater and bookstore. In the near future it will house condominiums, a restaurant, a lounge and retail businesses.

The building at 755 Broadway was purchased last year by The Gintz Group, a Tacoma-based developer. Crews have been busy recently stripping the upper floors down to the studs and preparing the structure for remodeling.

Ron Gintz, chief operating officer with The Gintz Group, is discovering the excitement and challenges the restoration project poses.

The building will contain 12 condominiums, six on the third floor and six on the fourth. They will range between 685 and 980 square feet, with the larger units having two bedrooms.

Light wells from the old hotel will provide space for small decks for some of the third-floor units. â??That will be a nice feature,â?? Gintz commented.

Fourth-floor units will not have decks, but some will have small terraces.

Gintz said his group is still determining pricing for the units, but said they will sell in the range of $225,000 and $350,000, which he described as â??extremely affordableâ?? for downtown Tacoma.

The first floor will have two or three doors facing out onto Commerce Street, with space for retail tenants.

The second floor will contain commercial and office space.

The doors on the Broadway side will enter into Broadway Speakeasy, a restaurant and bar. Pat Nagle from the Harmon is a partner with The Gintz Group on the building. The current plan is to have Nagle and Harmon staff operate the restaurant. Gintz is interested in selling pizza by the slice from a walk-up counter to cater to office workers looking for a quick lunch.

The dining area will seat 54 people, with more seating in the lounge.

Merritt Arch, a firm owned by noted local architect Jim Merritt, is working on the project. Bargreen-Ellingson, a Tacoma company that sells restaurant equipment, has been hired to assist in planning the restaurant space.

The former theater space will be renovated for dining and entertaining. Gintz said second-run movies will be shown, and live theater, such as one-person plays, is a possibility. The room will have tables down the middle and booths along each side. Speakers will be installed at each booth, so diners can control whether they want to listen to music or not.

The sidewalk on the Broadway side will be replaced as part of an ongoing local improvement district in this section of downtown.

Some of the renovation details are yet to be finalized. Gintz said the partners may raise the floor on the story facing Broadway 24 inches to place ductwork underneath. The stage may be moved forward to allow for dressing rooms for actors.

â??Itâ??s an evolving thing,â?? Gintz said.

Some of the old hotel room doors were kept, and Gintz hopes to reuse them. A few old radiators were kept, and will likely serve a decorative use in the restaurant.

Earlier this month Tacoma City Council approved a 10-year property tax exemption for the condominiums.

The developers may apply for a historic renovation tax credit. While this provides a financial bonus, it also carries numerous rules on what they can and canâ??t do. Gintz said they havenâ??t decided on whether to pursue it.

He is intrigued by tile work along Broadway containing the words Stothart Hotel. He would like to use them in some manner, but they have suffered over the years, with some of the tiles missing.

They also want to keep the original window frames upstairs. Gintz said they will be removed, restored and re-installed.

Major additions during the renovation include a sprinkler system and an elevator.

Soundproofing will be installed so condo residents donâ??t hear noise coming from the restaurant below.

A marble façade was added along the Broadway during a previous renovation. It has been removed, and Gintz said a façade more in keeping with the structureâ??s original look will be installed instead.

The top floors were added to the building some time after it was constructed. Gintz said this is evident because the lower floors have support posts not present on the upper floors. â??That makes it challenging to add weight,â?? he remarked.

Next door is the Winthrop Apartments. The building was originally a luxury hotel. Prium Companies, a local developer, has purchased it and plans to restore it as a hotel.

Gintz said once the hotel opens, it will have a huge, positive impact on the neighborhood.  He is pleased that the Meccaâ??s restaurant and retail businesses will be ready to serve the well-heeled guests the hotel is expected to attract.

â??Better early than late,â?? he remarked. â??As the hotel revitalizes this whole area, this will be huge.â??