Decision Point: One Residence

Two weeks ago we met with a 203(k) loan specialist for guidance on financing our project.  He reviewed our finances as well as our preliminary plans.  Our plans involve renovating the existing ground floor commercial space and offices, converting the workshop below into our apartment, and adding two stories for rental lofts.

He raised questions as to whether we would be approved for adding floors to the original building.  He said that approving loans in this housing market for projects that rely on income from tenant rentals can be tricky because of the current volatility.  Because of this, we've decided to gear back the size of our project to one that we could afford without the need for additional rental income.  However, in the future if things go well, we could add floors to the building as part of a second phase.

In the meantime, we've put the the ground floor retail space on Craig's List to gauge interest.

Our Craig's List Ad

Preliminary Permitting

We've got our preliminary design firmed up enough to begin the permitting process.

It starts with an on-line form, which includes information on the existing structure and proposed changes.   It also requires us to upload our drawings directly to the building department in PDF format.  The next day we set a meeting with the Village inspector to get his thoughts on how to smooth the process.  He was very helpful and suggested the following:

1. Ensure the wallboard meets New York state fire code requirements 
2. Ensure that there are no windows, doors, or combustible materials within 5 feet of the side yard property lines
3. If we build up to four floors, the top floor must be set back from the street a minimum of 10 feet
4. He confirmed that we would need four separate board approvals before the permit could be reviewed and that one of them would require at least two visits
5. We would not need to install wheelchair accessible bathrooms in the existing office and retail space as long as 20% of the cost of those renovations is less than the cost of creating the new accessible bathrooms

Live/Work Market Analysis

Yesterday we visited the Palisade Street Studios as part of the River Arts Studio Tour.  The building used to house the old Anchor Brewery and has since been converted into studios that offer raw space to an eclectic array of artists.

We got to see works that include:

Kumiko Buller - pastel portraiture

Eleanor Goldstein - Oil, Pastel and Prints - she works with light in coastal areas

Vicente Saavedra - Oil Paintings - he creates geometric based compositions with a palette knife

Norman Sussman - Oil and Acrylic - posters and landscapes

Despite viewing only a small percentage of the amazing talent in the area, we were impressed with the variety of expression from artists in these small towns.  It's a relief to be moving into an area that fosters the arts. 

While at the tour, we did a little market analysis and asked people for their thoughts on our proposed live/work lofts (see sample plan below).  We got some valuable information and suggestions, which include:

• Rent out the whole ground floor for use as headquarters for the non-profit organization,  Rivertowns Arts Council.
• Shift away from artists because of the easy availability and low pricing at the Palisade Street Studios.  
• Alternately, we received positive feedback that artists might be interested in our loft because it would be newer and more comfortable, it might be an advantage to live and work in the same space, and some artists may want a main street presence. 
• Switch from artists to small businesses because they would more likely want to be downtown with the easier access and the walk-in traffic that it offers.
• We discussed the need for earthquake reinforcing with Michael Lewis Architects, who suggested that we might utilize pre-fab steel frames from Simpson Strong Tie Company.   

Facade Details

If we build additional stories up, we may not be able to use brick, partly because of expense and partly because of the weight on the structure.  Here are some masonry details in the front of the building that we like.

Yellow brick in between gray

Old stair worn in the middle

Keystones above openings

Three Alternative Building Directions

Us in front of the building as we think about our alternatives

Lately Rick's been busy with AutoCAD developing alternative directions for the development of the building.  We're down to three:  

1. Add three floors to the existing building, with each floor a separate loft live/work space.  This would maintain the existing footprint and allow flexibility for future parking in the back.  However, we'd be altering the facade of this historic building and would likely increase construction costs due to seismic requirements.  This may be the highest and best use, providing us with the most income, with a total of four units.  
2. Extend the existing building out in the back, allowing the addition of one more residential unit, giving us a total of two.  This would allow us to maintain the original historic facade with substantially lower construction costs. However, we'd be making less income and the option for future parking would be limited.
3. A hybrid option would be to add just one floor and also extend out to the back, giving us two additional units, for a total of three.  The advantage of adding one unit on top would be to substantially reduce seismic costs while giving us more income than the previous option.  Yet this would result in less income than option one and future parking options would also likely be limited.  

We're hoping to decide soon as the clock is ticking.  Our decision will likely be determined by the following: the structural engineer's comparative cost analysis for the different versions, overall project pricing, town approvals, and our financial qualifications.   

Chutes in the Limelight

Originally the building was heated with coal that was sent to the basement through a chute, which most likely started outside at the sidewalk.  Eventually fuel oil took over as the heat source and the chute removed.  Traces of the old chute remain in the walls and floor of the middle floor and basement.  These are their last days in the limelight because renovation will cover up the few remaining traces of the old coal chutes. 

The chute at mid-floor

Traces of the chute filled with concrete mid-floor

The final destination in the basement

Honoring the past

Before demolishing the plaster walls an artist-friend asked if she could take some of the pin-up girls that were plastered to the walls near where the guys used to work.  She used a steamer and scraper to selectively remove some of the ladies that have been glued to the walls for decades.

Originally I had wanted to save some of these pictures, and thought about removing large portions of plaster to mount on a piece of hard board.  However, the plaster is in crumbly condition and the pictures wouldn't remain intact.

This art project is one way to honor the past.