Flooring replacement? Fireplace brick (gas fireplace) removal? This deer in the headlights needs to know which way to run!

We're looking at replacing the flooring in a two story, two bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, 1300 square foot townhouse and I'm sort of overwhelmed. The first floor has a concrete subfloor for sure. When we bought the place in '97 we pulled up the OG orange/brown porn shag carpet from the entire home and had tile installed in the kitchen, dining room, downstairs half bath, and foyer. We had berber carpet installed in the first floor living room (where that white elephant of clunky brick extends 3 feet from the front of the gas fireplace), a broom closet, the stairs, and all of the second floor (2 bedrooms + closets) except the full bath. The second floor full bath currently has laminate tiles we installed ourselves that were meant to be temporary as we figured out a bathroom remodel.

Ideally, we'd like to go with the same flooring throughout. So, I've been looking at various wood/wood-like tiles/anything but carpet options. My concern is whether we can get that brick out from in front of the gas fireplace and replace it with something level with the rest of the floor in the living room. The awkward location of the fireplace combined with that brick has created a "no man's land" the makes the living room seem half as big as it is. If there needs to be a fireproof zone in front of the fireplace, it's okay for that to be flush with the surrounding flooring, I'm guessing (but I know fire codes can be confounding). The fact that the bricks were very likely laid directly onto the concrete seems like a jackhammer sort of job and I wonder about the tile installation as well. I wasn't able to see what the tile installers did as far as any underlayment so it may be jackhammers galore.

Am I looking at a huge expense, a nightmare, a big stick in the eye or smooth sailing for this sort of project? I haven't yet met with any flooring people to discuss this since I'm kind of spooked what kind of money we're looking at here. The carpets have been through some rowdy pets with toenails that snagged some pretty gnarly sections. It should have been replaced years ago, I know. Now that we're trying to do some basic updating so we can sell this place in the next couple of years it's time to focus on the big deal first: the floors. Should we opt to remodel that upstairs bathroom and possibly the kitchen, I'd want to plan ahead and have extra of whatever flooring material we do install right now.

Any help would be massively appreciated regarding that fireplace/bricks on concrete situation as well as any recommendations for a good flooring replacement that will tolerate both a couple of pets with all their toenails who have the grace of a hog on ice plus the regular dense (salty) marine layer since we're about 1/4 mile from the ocean. Thank you so much for any and all tips you may be willing to offer!