Model T Factory Conversion to TipTop Lofts
Constructed originally as a Model T Factory by Henry Ford in 1917, in the 1950s the building became the main factory for the TipTop Curler Company (the Bobby-pin was invented in Omaha!) In its last iteration before becoming multi-family housing, it was used as a tire warehouse / storage facility.
Funny thing: Even though the building was designed by Albert Kahn, along with many other similar structures for Ford, the use of reinforced concrete was in its infancy. After floors were x-rayed and analyzed by the structural engineer, it was determined that the columns were reinforced such that they could support a building with many more floors than what was built. However, it was determined that the 8” thick cast concrete floors were designed such that they shouldn’t even be able to hold themselves up - and there were very few notes of cracking, even after the huge load of tire storage was in-place and removed. The Engineer devised “exterior reinforcing” —- basically steel straps secured to the underside of the worst-case floor areas—-as an inexpensive fix to something that didn’t appear to be a problem in the first place!
The market rate apartment project utilized historic tax credits as well as New Market tax credits as a portion of its financial pro-forma. InPlay, a game / eatery / bar / meeting facility was the tenant for the first floor, custom-designed specifically to their specifications. After eight months, they were replaced by a well-known catering company for the concessions in the meeting rooms; the firm of record for the design of the project became a tenant at the South end of the historic Ford warehouse, and, eventually, a series of eight residential units were constructed at the North end of first floor.
The multi-family residences were designed as true “lofts” with large windows, sliding doors that separated bedrooms from living rooms (or created a single large space), and had all of the modern conveniences tenants require. Parking for all of the residential tenants was located beneath the meeting space addition as well as below the front parking lot, since the 1917 factory building lacked any sort of basement space. Centered on the west face adjacent to the new interior atrium were the leasing office, a hotel room, a fitness room and a community room (sequentially, from floors 2-5). A rooftop deck for tenants provides cook-out areas, a hot tub, and a raised observation deck (the parapet around the roof was six to eight feet tall at the South, West, and North elevations). The building Owner remodeled the North elevator penthouse into a small pied-a-terre. Eventually that structure, the hotel room, and the leasing office were converted to leasable apartments.