The Old Market Lofts
The Mercantile Storage and Warehouse Building was still in use during the design phase. Imagine the smell of boxes of Tide detergent stacked on pallets floor-to-ceiling for an entire quarter block!
The warehouses on the quarter-block at the intersection of 10th and Jones Streets are heavy timber construction with masonry exteriors. The warehouse on the quarter-block at the intersection of 11th and Jones Streets is reinforced cast-in-place concrete with a masonry exterior. The warehouse on the south side of the block, spanning from 10th to 11th Streets along Leavenworth, is heavy timber wood construction with a masonry exterior. This market-rate apartment community utilized federal historic tax credits as a portion of the overall development plan.
The design phase incorporated many aspects:
Parking in the concrete structure as well as the basements of the other buildings.
Finding the correct balance, proportion, and overall mix of apartment units - all conforming to Standards set forth by the Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
Creating two atriums - one in the concrete building, six floors in height, and one below the rooftop amenities, two stories tall - to enable reasonable unit layouts as well as to provide a variety of usable, communal spaces.
The first floors of all buildings were to be commercial, complementing the existing solid entertainment district that is The Old Market. However, the first floor of the building adjacent to the 10th Street viaduct sat idle for a number of years, and housing was created adding another ten units to the mix.
Have you ever been inside a large building that radiates the smell of coffee? In its final years the Parlin, Orendorff and Martin Warehouse served as the main roastery and storage for Butternut Coffee. There are probably still coffee beans that work their way down and through the structure, to this day.
Links
Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District National Register Nomination -
Paxton and Gallagher: Sattley Manufacturing Company; The Creighton Block; Pacific Storage and Warehouse Building
Mercantile Storage and Warehouse
Parlin, Orendorff, and Martin Warehouse