WATERLOO -- The man who hoped to transform the former Lincoln Elementary into an east side community center is giving it back to the Waterloo School District.

Michael Douglas bought the school for $1 two years ago with plans of turning it into the Lincoln Multigenerational-Multicultural Center. He envisioned providing space for adult education, tutoring services, craft sales, party rentals, job training and youth activities.

His hope was to provide a place for teenagers to learn skills from furniture building to operating a recording studio as an alternative to being on the streets or joining a gang.

Douglas, a real estate agent, said this week he has been trying to get an occupancy permit from the city for a portion of the building at 942 Newton St. for months. However, he said building inspector Louis Cutwright has been unavailable or missed a number of appointments to walk through the school.

"We can't have events until we have the right to have occupants in there," said Douglas.

"I can't move until the city moves," he added. "Their inspector holds up the whole thing, because without his nay or yea, what can we do?"

Although Cutwright said there was a point where "we kept on missing one another" for walk-throughs, eventually they connected.

"We have looked at the facility several times with Mr. Douglas," he said. Officials "had set out a small game plan" last fall that would allow Douglas to use the gym without initially installing costly sprinklers in the whole building. That included providing safe exits and access to restrooms from the gym while keeping people out of the remainder of the building. It also required a heating system that would function in that part of the building. Cutwright noted those requirements were still going to take some financial investment to accomplish, and officials never received a plan from Douglas.

"It's a very easy scapegoat to say the city or the building department isn't cooperating," said Cutwright. "What do they want us to do? Do they want us to put people in harm's way? We're just looking after our job of protecting life, limb and health."

He added, "It's more than just a -- quote -- 'building issue,' it's a financing issue."

The proposed center was granted a special permit by the Waterloo Board of Adjustment last spring to begin operating programs in the gymnasium following installation of a fire door. By last fall, Douglas had held several yard sales to sell items stored in the building. Nonprofit status had been secured, a board had been assembled and grants were being sought to help with operational costs.

The center has not been awarded any grants. It applied to the Black Hawk County Gaming Association for grant funding, but was turned down.

Douglas said he has talked to the district's attorney about returning the building.

"If there isn't another party interested in the building, then we would be taking it down," said Waterloo Superintendent Dewitt Jones. He doubted anyone else would show an interest in the building, since Douglas was the only person who initially sought it.

Douglas' purchase agreement stipulated the building be returned to the school district if plans for the center were not put in place within two years. District officials have said any former school for which a new purpose cannot be found will be torn down.

"We wouldn't let it become an eyesore," said Jones.

He noted returning the property would be on the board's agenda in the coming weeks. The district would then have to remove asbestos, take bids on the demolition and hire a company to raze the building.

"It's six to eight months minimal to get that all taken care of," Jones said. Two years ago, the estimated price to demolish the old Lincoln was $115,000 to $160,000. Funding would come from the 1 percent local option sales tax revenues used for school construction and remodeling.

Contact Andrew Wind at (319) 291-1507 or andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com.