COLUMBUS, Ohio (COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIRST) — You can now live above Lev’s Pawn Shop in downtown Columbus.

The Residences at 218 East Main – 14 newly refurbished apartments in the historic downtown building – are now for lease.

Lev Kucherski, who owns the building home to the eponymous pawn shop, and his grandson, Nick Kinney, an architect, have been working on the project since 2017.

Kucherski bought the building in 2008, according to Franklin County Auditor’s records. It was built in 1887.

For years, the building was a furniture store, and the upper floors were residences of some kind, Kinney said. But the building had long been vacant before Kucherski bought it. The upper floors remained vacant until work started on the apartments.

For more on this story and to see a slideshow of the apartments, go to ColumbusBusinessFirst.com.