A development firm is interested in renovating the long-closed former Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Co. administrative building into an apartment complex for senior citizens.

The city received a letter from the Woda Group of Westerville, Ohio, indicating that the developer hopes to buy and renovate the building at 651 Hansen Ave.

David Cooper, principal of the firm, confirmed the developer’s interest in the property, but said the potential project is in the “very early stages.”

“All I can really say right now is we’re looking to develop it as senior apartments,” he said. “And we would do it as a historic renovation.”

The 48,000 square-foot building is owned by Sumner McDanel of Penn Township, according to county records. It is listed for sale through Achieve Real Estate for $875,000, according to the agency’s website.

McDanel could not be reached by phone for comment.

Cooper said his firm has an option to buy the building but did not elaborate.

City councilwoman Cheri Readie said she and Butler County’s commissioners-elect met with representatives from the firm Thursday to discuss the project.

Readie said the developer is looking at a multimillion dollar project, but is only in the “information gathering phase.”

The apartment complex would serve as subsidized housing for those 62-and older, Readie said. She said the property would be privately owned and taxable.

The Woda Group’s letter to the city asks for a change to its zoning ordinance that allow multifamily dwellings in the C-2 Zoning District. The ordinance would be limited to locations that do not abut Main Street.

City council on Thursday recommended the change to the planning and zoning commission.

Cooper said his firm also will try to have the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places through the National Park Service. The firm would qualify for federal tax credits on the property if the building’s deemed historic.

He said the historic renovation would place restrictions on what can be done to the building. He noted it is too early to discuss details about the apartment complex, including the number of units.

The firm has done other historic rehabilitation work on properties in Ohio and Michigan.

Councilman Bill May said he was excited about the possibility of the old building being occupied.

“I’m thrilled that it looks like there could be a tenant in the building,” he said. “It’s a beautiful structure. It would be a big plus to that area of town.”

The office building is believed to have been built before 1911, based on historical records. It was the administration building for Pullman-Standard until the freight car manufacturing company closed in February 1982.

It has since been vacant.

May said the building is one of the many historic properties in the city.

“A real selling point of the city is its unique architecture,” he said.

He said an historic renovation could inspire other property owners to do the same with their historic buildings.

“Nothing breeds success like success,” he said.

Ken Raybuck, director of the Community Development Corporation of Butler, said he could not comment on the project at this time, but said any renovation of the administrative building would be a benefit to the community.

The CDC led the way for much of the redevelopment of the adjoining Pullman Center Business Park during the past two decades.

The deed to the former administrative building has gone through a handful of owners since the company closed and was bought by McDanel in September 2007.