In the wake of a developer’s decision to pull the plug on a proposed senior living project in downtown Warren, city officials have acknowledged that it will take time to unwind the agreements that paved the way for the project.

One step — a federal lawsuit aimed at halting the project — has been unwound.

A stipulation was filed on Aug. 26 in federal court.

“The developer, who was planning to demolish the property, had decided to cease from the project, therefore making this litigation moot,” the filing states.

It further adds that all the parties agreed to the stipulation.

The following day, District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter ordered that the case be dismissed.

Dave Winans, Ron Peterson, Phil Caudill, Wendy McCain and Kevin Sheldon filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

The project involved demolishing the property at 231-237 Pennsylvania Ave.

“Demolition of 231-237 Pennsylvania Avenue will not only result in the irreplaceable loss of Warren’s only surviving example of single-story Beaux Arts Style architecture, but also inflict severe and long-lasting effects on the character, community and economy of Warren and jeopardize the continued maintenance of the Warren Historic District’s listing in the National Register,” the lawsuit claimed.

Mayor David Wortman said at the August Council meeting that the developer, Hudson Group, informed the city that “they will no longer be moving forward with the Eagle’s Crest project.”

Wortman said the city would be working to rewind agreements it has with Hudson and that “no further details are available to the present time.”

According to online county assessment records, the city acquired the property back in 2009 and sold it to the developer in 2018. There was evidently a clause that the properties would revert to the city if the project was not completed on a certain timeline.

There’s no quick way to move the project somewhere else in the city, should the developer look to go that route.

During the June meeting, Kelley Coey, Hudson’s director of development, said that “all funding and permits are tied to the specific location.”