Farnam Building; Bayview.
These are two historic tax credit projects that are both similar and very different…
Farnam Building
Using historic and low income housing tax credits as integral financial needs for this project allowed this fairly dowdy, run-down office building shine as a wonderful affordable multi-family housing community smack-dab in the middle of downtown. Originally built by the Byron Reed Realty Corporation, the exterior detailing and fairly elegant entry lobby and public corridors had fallen into disrepair. The extra funds helped enable this to be a “like new” apartment building within a historic wrapper. Northrup Jones, the historic downtown buffet (you deposited your dime or nickel in a box to get served that adjacent item) had long been out of service, but the space has been kept intact thanks to the USPS providing a downtown branch in this building.
Bayview
What would this be called? A building whose time has come and gone? It seemed more likely for the wrecking ball than renovation, but the team found a way to keep this building acting as a (revitalized) commercial entity on 13th Street, while providing enough housing to have the project make long-term financial sense. At the time of design, the few tenants left in the building had pretty well “sprawled over” the bounds of their rental areas, using both basement and second floor as repositories of, ummmm…”stuff”. The actual space used by the tenants was approximately the forward third of the first floor, fronting onto the street. By making a few adjustments on first floor, and realizing the potential for the basement (walk-out, to the back) and second floor, the design team was able to have a single entry serve a total of four units - two on either side of the entrance stair, and two on the first floor and basement, making two three-bedroom units per bay, and thus making the entire renovation financially feasible. Certainly is better to have this “painted lady” still with us, rather than the alternative. Hooray!