But, representatives of Capstone Development Corp. said they will appeal to the Lafayette City-Parish Council to overturn the Planning Commission's decision.

Last week, the council overruled an earlier decision by the Planning Commission to deny the first phase of the Capstone student apartment project.

Capstone engineer Paul Miers said the developers are redesigning the apartment complex to accommodate the neighborhood. The first set of apartments facing Lamar Street will be reduced to two stories and will blend with the neighborhood's architectural style, he said. The other units will be three stories tall and face Stewart Street.

Lafayette attorney Glenn Armentor, a native and property owner of Freetown, said he was opposed to the Capstone apartments until he delved into the company's other developments and its plans for Freetown. He spoke Monday as a supporter.

More than a year ago, two of his clients considered building an oil field service company and a pipeyard on the Stewart Street property.

"Somebody's going to build something on that property, and I don't want to see it be a pipeyard," Armentor said.

Armentor said he met with the developers, and many of his fears were put to rest. He said he asked Capstone for $500,000 for Freetown improvements. They settled with the council on $200,000.

"I will be the first one to sue the hell out of Capstone if they don't live up to their promise, and I'm pretty good at it," Armentor said.

Commissioner Fred Prejean said residents in Freetown, which was settled by freed slaves, are seeking national recognition as a historical district. A major change in the neighborhood such as a large apartment complex could make it difficult to acquire that goal, he said.

"The council already granted phase one, and there's going to be some apartments there," Prejean said. "Please show some compassion for the neighborhood's effort to acquire this historic status by arranging your architectural greenery in such a way that it does not impose itself on the antiquity that exists."

The Planning Commission vote 3-2 to reject phase two of the complex. Voting to deny phase two were Commission Chairman John Barras, Barbara Conner and Prejean. Voting to grant the second phase were Keith Miller and John Broussard.