BATAVIA – The Campana building apartment proposal is dead.

Evergreen Real Estate Group has withdrawn its zoning petition to the city of Batavia, said the Chicago firm’s Director of Development David Block.

After months of contentious public hearings, the action taken Feb. 1 brings an end to the controversial plan to put 80 apartment units inside the landmark building located at 901 N. Batavia Ave.

“We came to the conclusion that nobody’s mind was going to be changed,” Block said.

The proposal needed 10 votes for approval on the 14-member Batavia City Council, but only nine aldermen were in support.

Evergreen’s move preempts the showdown that had been expected before the council Feb. 5.

Mayor Jeff Schielke confirmed that Block had pulled Evergreen’s petition for the Campana project and said the proposal will not appear on the council meeting agenda.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Schielke said.

The 10-vote supermajority on the council was required because of a legal protest filed by Robert Byrnes of Batavia Avenue Properties, located at 1950 and 2000 S. Batavia Ave. in Geneva. The office park shares a property line along the north and northwest sides of the Campana site, which is located at the northwest corner of Route 31 and Fabyan Parkway.

Last week, Block cited the possibility that Evergreen might pull its petition for the project in light of the entrenched positions of council members.

“We don’t feel we’re in a great position with this vote, with what we’ve seen from the council,” Block said last week.

The proposal had been hanging in limbo since last November, after Byrnes filed his protest triggering the supermajority vote requirement.

Block presented aldermen with concept plans for major revisions to the project, but it quickly became apparent that these were not going to gain additional votes in favor. Since then, Evergreen did not file any new plans.

Evergreen’s proposal included use of historic tax credits to help finance renovation of the 1936 factory building in a $30 million project and low-income tax credits to subsidize the rents for tenants in 64 of the units.

In marathon meetings before the Batavia Plan Commission, the Batavia Historic Preservation Commission and the Batavia City Council, residents jammed the council chambers and engaged in heated debate.

Supporters said the plan would serve to renovate the deteriorating structure and provide needed low-income housing. Opponents said the plan would create substandard living conditions, produce unacceptable levels of traffic and lower surrounding property values.