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LOFTS AROUND TEXAS
Up until the time the Richters sold their New Braunfels' downtown
building, the family lived in an upstairs loft and worked downstairs
in the pharmacy they owned. They walked to church, to J. C. Penney's
and enjoyed a very short commute from home to work - no traffic
jams. They were loft dwellers for 54 years, finally closing the
pharmacy and moving in 1964. Now the Hartmans live in the loft apartment
and have for 6 years. A clothing store has recently opened downstairs.
Loft living is not a new concept. Many families often lived above
their places of business. It was a way of life combining convenience
and sound economics. And, Texans are returning to this way of life
and to their downtowns in increasing numbers.
In the bigger cities, such as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin,
contractors are finding an enormous amount of interest in downtown
living. Small towns also are experiencing a boom in downtown living.
Nacogdoches mainstreet manager, Jill Beck, receives at the very
least five calls per week from people wanting to live downtown.
In a town of 30,000, Nacogdoches has 16 lofts and an historic 13
unit apartment building with more lofts on the way. Charlie Betts,
Executive Director of the Downtown Austin Alliance, says that contractors
cannot get projects up fast enough to meet the demand. In three
years, Austin has almost doubled its amount of downtown residential
living. Economically, lofts are not only revitalizing old buildings,
but the downtown district as well. Former Denton Main Street Manager,
Jane Jenkins, talked one shop owner into creating an upstairs loft.
Denton now has 37 lofts.
Loft conversion allows buildings standing empty with no sense of
purpose to become productive and useful. With few alternatives for
new construction in the downtown areas, developers in Houston are
buying up vacant, run- down buildings close to the downtown area
and converting them into lofts, says Hal Fairbanks of Historic Restoration,
Inc. HRI recently celebrated their groundbreaking ceremony for the
renovation of the Humble building (circa 1921). The building will
be converted into 82 apartments, as well as two hotels.
Lofts blend with new technology in more ways than one. The Houston
Bayou Lofts, housed in the 1910 Southern Pacific Railroad building
and developed by Spire Realty Group will be on the proposed Houston
light rail line. The 1905 Sears Distribution Center located in The
Cedars, south of Downtown Dallas and developed by Norman Altson
Architects, is located on the DART light rail line.
Preservation and economics go hand in hand in loft projects. Shelly
Hargrove, Taylor Mainstreet Manager, states "these buildings were
built to be fully utilized with no area wasted. If a building owner
is making a profit from every square foot of the building, then
it becomes more economical for them to preserve the property and
keep it well maintained." And, in the cities and communities that
offer economic incentives for restoration and rehabilitation, developers
and other loft converters are actively using them. Preservation-minded
cities like Nacogdoches have tax abatement ordinances that allow
for renovation and rehabilitation, the largest abatements given
to creating upstairs apartments. They are also finding ways to accommodate
present-day codes with preservation by allowing owners to restore
the tin ceilings and add sprinkler systems to meet safety standards.
However, many cities are in need of economic incentive programs
and city building codes need updating as well. In Austin, for example,
building codes actually encourage owners to keep their second and
third stories vacant instead of turning them into needed living
space and making them economically viable for the building owner.
Yet for preservationists and cities concerned with economic development,
lofts make sense. "Loft conversion is adaptive-use rehabilitation
of historic buildings; therefore it IS preservation," states Preservation
Dallas Executive Director, Catherine Horsey, "And loft conversions
preserve an important part of the history and fabric of the city
that might otherwise be lost, primarily because the buildings are
rarely high style architecture and so are commonly less appreciated
by the public."
Not appreciated, unless you are Donna Purkey and John Coots of Taylor.
They are converting a 1907 building into a loft and coffee shop.
Built by the Woodmen of the World (Donna and John have a window
that says WOW to prove it), the building was used as the meeting
place for the International Order of Oddfellows, a men's charitable
group. On the front of the building are three intertwined circles
representing the order's credo of friendship, love and truth. The
cornerstone has the names of the original lodge members. The building
has also served for group meetings including churches, the Girl
Scouts and the KKK. Upstairs two doors contain peepholes reminiscent
of a speakeasy. And, odd little bits of history keep turning up
in the Old Oddfellow building. Recently, Donna turned over a gas
heater she was repainting and found swastikas impressed on the bottom.
The heaters, manufactured in Athens, OH, were probably made pre-World
War II when U.S. companies were still purchasing parts from Germany.
Small town owners like Donna and John have very different circumstances
then bigger city developers. Often lofts in smaller Texas towns
are bought, restored and lived in by the owners. The owners not
only face massive restoration projects on their own, but they also
encounter the unexpected - such as unwelcome visitors like birds
and bats. Small town loft conversion is not for the faint hearted!
Yet the benefits are substantial. Loft dwellers walk to work, often
simply down a staircase, walk to the grocery store, banks, restaurants
and parks. Lofts are creating downtown neighborhoods. They contribute
to the integrity and identity of a city. Dr. Keith Rose of Corpus
Christi, an avid loft advocate, has already restored two buildings
and is now renovating the 50 year old Abe Katz building. For Dr.
Rose, downtown is "the last undiscovered area, the heart of the
city." He believes people are moving downtown searching for identity
with the city. Lofts provide that connection not only through the
revitalization of old buildings, but the restoration of a way of
life.
Many Texas cities and towns, Dallas, Austin, Denton, Denison, Nacogdoches,
Houston and Taylor to name a few, host loft tours each year. A visitor
can glimpse historic preservation at work and experience exciting
opportunities such as touring a loft in an 1899 Denton Opera House
or having a feast for the eyes in Downtown Denison with its 17 lofts
and numerous antique shops and art galleries. If you visit the 1928
Woodmen of the World building in Nacogdoches and ask nicely, Nathan
might even let you play four-court basketball - in his loft.
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