Lasick’s has been a double-wide trailer since last summer after the popular restaurant and bar burned to the ground in late 2004.

When Joe Lasick Jr.’s family-owned restaurant, Lasick’s Beef and Seafood, burned down two years ago, he pledged to rebuild with the traditional nautical theme, honoring the 60-year-old establishment’s legacy as a “cozy” place to “relax and have a beer”.

But Lasick now appears to be scrapping those designs, as discussions between the restaurateur and JPI Property Management, the management company at University Town Center in Hyattsville, has led county and city officials to say a large-scale housing development could be in the works.

“The most recent I heard, he was trying to put something together with JPI and put some condominiums up,” District 3 County Councilman Tom Hendershot said. “We have some mutual friends who have occasionally brought it up.”

Officials in several interviews said Lasick’s lot would likely be combined with the land next to it, formerly the Hillcrest Motor Court, which would create a highly developable property. According to property records, the Hillcrest lot was purchased last year by Dallas-based University House Communities, a brand name of University Partners – a development group that devises “living and learning solutions for colleges,” according to their website.

Lasick declined to confirm whether he plans to sell the property, saying only that “anything’s possible” for the future of the lot. He added that no decisions will be made until he receives input from county and city council members.

“You wouldn’t be a community-oriented business individual if you went around doing these things,” Lasick said of business owners who don’t consult the council on development. “You have to be a person who works with the city and the county and, most importantly, the neighbors.”

However, Lasick said that he had applied for a permit to rebuild his establishment several months ago, and it would be several more until he obtains the permit.

County records at the Department of Environmental Resources, where permit applications are submitted, show Lasick only applied for two permits in 2006, both of which were put-up signs, not build on the property. Terry Schum, College Park’s planning director, also said Lasick has not contacted her office to discuss development.

A double-wide trailer housing a liquor store has stood on the lot since last summer, and Lasick sold a shop in Florida he owned in order to raise money to rebuild the restaurant, which wasn’t insured for fire damage. A fundraiser was also held by community members to help him raise money to clear away debris and pay employees last January. Lasick did not return follow-up calls for comments on the permits or negotiations with JPI, and JPI and University House also did not return calls for comment.

The liquor store business sparked controversy in October, when District 2 City Councilman Jack Perry wrote in his monthly column in the Berwyn News that “we must insist that development on Route 1 consists of more than a liquor store in a double-wide.”

Some city council members, including Perry, are excited by the idea of possibly combining the two parcels and building a mixed-use residential and commercial project.

“If it went all the way to the corner of Cherokee Street I would be tickled to death,” Perry said. “In my opinion, any development on Lasick’s property should go to the corner of Cherokee Street. That would be four acres and that would be one helluva project.”

District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin added, “Given that the plan for Route 1 calls for consolidating parcels, obviously if it could happen you would assume it would result in a better project,” he said. “It certainly would be hard to find another site that has that much land to be consolidated. It represents a better than average opportunity to do something on Route 1.”

Contact reporter Steven Overly at overlydbk@gmail.com.