A four-unit apartment building in Lakeview has been demolished before any renters ever moved in.

Demolition was completed last week on the brick structure at 1023 W. Irving Park Road, after standing empty and unfinished for more than two years after the Howard Brown Health Center bought the four-story building from developer Panoptic Group midway through construction.

Panoptic, which according to the Cook County recorder of deeds paid $580,000 for the site in 2008 when it held a vintage two-story greystone, began construction of a new four-story residential building in summer 2016. The firm estimated the cost of construction at $1.68 million, according to permit-tracker Chicago Cityscape. The combined cost of the land and construction would have totaled about $2.26 million.

A year later, with the building not yet finished, Panoptic sold it to Howard Brown Health Center for a little less than $3.2 million, according to the recorder. Headquartered about a block away on Sheridan Road, Howard Brown is a health and social services provider primarily for the LGBTQ community, founded in 1974.

Panoptic’s principal, Bogdan Popovych, agreed to finish exterior construction, and Howard Brown would finish the interior, the Real Deal reported last year. Popovych did not complete the work as scheduled, and an engineering firm hired by Howard Brown found defects in the construction that had been done, according to the Real Deal.

In December 2018, Howard Brown sued Popovych, seeking a $1.9 million award. Terms of the settlement of that case are not being disclosed, according to Diane Pascal, senior vice president of external relations at Howard Brown. Popovych could not be reached for comment.

In July 2019, Howard Brown received a demolition permit for the structure, which had stood uncompleted for at least two years. When a Crain’s reporter checked the site on Aug. 30, demolition was complete.

“We’re just beginning to move forward with that lot,” Pascal said. She said that though it’s not yet clear what the clinic will build there, “we know that it won’t be residential.” Pascal declined to discuss details of the purchase from Panoptic, the lawsuit or the demolition plan.