Builder plans 19 downtown condos
By Jenni Glenn in The Journal Gazette
A $2.3 million project to convert a vacant factory into urban loft-style condominiums will add to the city's housing stock within easy reach of downtown.
If the 19 condos just north of downtown sell quickly, the developer might build more housing in the neighborhood south of the YWCA. John McKay, president of Hartland Development, envisions building as many as 415 housing units there and investing up to $85 million.
The future of redevelopment efforts in the neighborhood north of the St. Marys River has been a question mark since December, when the Salvation Army rejected a proposal to build a $176 million community center on the YWCA site and adjacent property owned by OmniSource.
So far, Hartland Development has scheduled a makeover for only the former Colwell Inc. paint chip production facility at 200 Sixth St., on the northwest corner of Harrison Street. The red-brick building will house seven, two-story condos and 12 single-story units. The condos will range in size from 1,350 to 2,000 square feet. McKay said he will start pre-selling the condominiums Friday for between $150,000 and $180,000.
Construction will start about Aug. 1 and last about 10 months, said Holly Hunter, vice president for Hamilton Hunter Builders Inc., the project contractor.
The condos will retain the "industrial flavor" of the factory, said Michael McKay, a partner in the architecture firm Morrison Kattman Menze Inc., which is designing the housing. He and John McKay are brothers.
Renovations will leave the duct work near the 12-foot-tall ceilings exposed, along with some masonry work, Michael McKay said. The building's brick walls will be left in place. The windows and wooden floors need to be replaced, but Michael McKay said the new features will try to mimic the feel of the factory. The one-story office building on the lot will be demolished to make room for garages.
The structure was built in the 1890s to house General Printing Corp. The printing company was later owned by Colwell Inc., which vacated the building in 2001 when the paint sample manufacturer consolidated its operations in Kendallville, said Ellen Mann, vice president of account services for Colwell.
McKay has an agreement to buy the building for $550,000. He said renovating the factory will cost about $1.8 million.
Similar urban loft housing is being built in former warehouses in major cities such as New York and Chicago, Michael McKay said. The final result should appeal to empty-nesters and young professionals, he said.
"I'm guessing once Fort Wayne sees these, we won't be able to sell them fast enough," he said.
John McKay said he anticipates demand for urban housing could cause the condos to sell quickly. This project could fuel further residential redevelopment in the neighborhood, which contains single-family homes, rental homes and light-industrial operations.
McKay's ideas involve building brownstones along Cass Street, adding other lofts along Harrison Street and constructing a mid- to high-rise apartment building in the southern part of the neighborhood near the St. Marys River.
Fort Wayne has "a pent-up need for urban housing," he said. The city needs more housing options to entice people to move downtown, he said.
Mayor Graham Richard said he is pleased to see the developer investing in an area near downtown and giving an old building a new, residential use.
Studies commissioned by the city and others have pinpointed a need for this type of urban condominium, said Heather Presley, the city's deputy director for housing and neighborhood services.
"These are what we call catalyst projects," she said. "This will show the community another lifestyle option."
Neighbors want to see the building and the larger neighborhood redeveloped, said Robert Martin, president of the Bloomingdale Neighborhood Association, which includes the vacant factory. More than half of the homes in the area are rentals, and the neighborhood would benefit from upgraded, owner-occupied houses, he said. The project will encourage landscaping and other beautification efforts.
"It's the gateway to downtown, any way you slice it," Martin said.
Posted by Admin at April 1, 2005 08:24 AM