Seth and Ivy Molen purchase downtown building at 627 E. Adams

Seth and Ivy Molen, owners of Brick City Apartments, have purchased the downtown building at 627 E. Adams that houses The Cardologist. Ivy Molen reports that plans are in the works to repair the roof so that the business will not need to move.

At the end of January, Doug Mayol, owner of The Cardologist, was faced with the prospect of having to relocate his store yet again. He moved into his current building in 2016 after having to vacate his previous location due to a change in ownership. However, a leaking roof and other deferred maintenance issues were interfering with his business operations.

Representatives from The Downtown Springfield Heritage Foundation and Downtown Springfield, Inc. met with the building owners and made an introduction to the Molens, who ultimately purchased the property.

Lisa Clemmons Stott, executive director of DSI, said she was extremely pleased with the outcome. "One of the roles of the Downtown Springfield Heritage Foundation is to help transition generational shifts in downtown property ownership. In this case, we were able to link the seller and a buyer who we felt would quickly move to stabilize and save The Cardologist's building."

While the Molens have been involved in a number of renovations of historic properties, this is their first downtown building. The majority of the Molen’s projects have been located in the Aristocracy Hill neighborhood just south of downtown, and the Springfield Historic Sites Commission and SBJ recognized their efforts with a Springfield Preservation Award in 2018.

Other than working with the current occupant, Ivy Molen said plans for the rest of the building are in flux.

“We’re working with the city and an architect on the best plan for the upstairs. We’re still in the early stages of figuring out what to do with the rest of the building,” she said.

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