Transforming a large historically registered warehouse into a luxury residential building is both complex and rewarding. Today, developers recognize the intrinsic value of reusing buildings that have stood vacant for decades. The conversion of warehouses into loft apartments has become a major trend across the United States. In St. Louis, that trend has manifested in the renaissance of what has been dubbed the Washington Avenue Loft District.
One developer in particular, Orchard Development Group, has recognized the value of using design-build for this type of project. Its first experience was with the 77-unit Annex Lofts, completed in 2005. A much larger project is now underway — the Ely Walker Lofts. Built in 1917, the 372,300 s.f. Ely & Walker Dry Goods warehouse at 1520 Washington Avenue is being transformed into the 174-unit Ely Walker Lofts. Orchard has already pre-sold more than half of the units in this trendy downtown area.
The masonry building was designed by world-renowned architects Eames & Young. With its terra cotta detail and marble entry, the warehouse presented an impressive appearance along Washington Avenue. Unfortunately, its usefulness as a warehouse waned with the era of massive single-story distribution centers, but it will be put to use once again thanks to the high demand for loft condominiums. Forum Studio and Clayco are the team working to restore the building’s architectural integrity while also infusing modern residential design and convenience.
The first floor will be dedicated to retail, with 50,000 s.f. allotted for shops. Visitors and residents will enter along a central lobby corridor, with shops on either side. The loft condominiums, ranging in price from $130,000 to $300,000, will be located on the second through seventh floors of the building. Residents are able to choose from a wide variety of floor plans and finishes, including quality wood cabinetry in a variety of styles and granite or marble countertops. Each unit also includes plaster barrel vault ceilings, exposed brick walls, spiral ductwork, a complete kitchen appliance package, in-unit laundry connections and individually controlled heat/air conditioning systems.
The project further involved tearing out a portion of the first floor to build an underground garage with space for 90 cars. Residents with premium condos will have dedicated parking spaces in the garage, while others will enter from the street level through the retail space and use a private code to access the residential elevators. Even the roof is being put to use, with a fitness center, entertainment room, and rooftop deck.
Clayco began design-build on the project in March 2006 and is on target to move in the first residents in June, with all finishes complete by September. On a project of this magnitude and difficulty, a schedule of a year and a half is very aggressive, but it is possible through the collaborative efforts of the experienced design-build team.
The Exterior
Although extremely dirty, the building’s exterior was in relatively good shape. Composed of brick with terra cotta detail, it mainly required cleaning and tuck pointing. The two changes that are being implemented are balconies for 24 condos and a new main entrance. Ely Walker’s original entrance featured detailed marble, but at some point that was covered. The marble entrance is being exposed once again to recreate the grandeur of the building’s original entry.
The Atrium
One of the structure’s most spectacular features is a six-story clerestory atrium at the center of the building. This feature adds natural light at the center of the massive warehouse. Since there is retail on the first floor, the atrium begins at the second level and extends through the roof of the building, culminating in two skylights separated by the central elevator shaft. The second floor serves as the lobby for the residential portion of the building and includes fountain features that are illuminated by the skylight above. While the end result is amazing, it was challenging to design and build the atrium.
To understand the difficulty, it is important to understand the layout of the existing facility. In the original warehouse, freight elevators were located on the south side of the building, culminating in a rooftop structure. This design was not practical for the building’s new use as a residential facility as it limited the amount of units with window access. Units at the center of the building would not be marketable.
What Orchard proposed was elevators at the center of the building with an atrium extending throughout. The freight elevator shaft would then be covered and reinforced at each floor to allow for residential units around the entire perimeter of the building. This plan required Clayco to remove a 160-by-30-foot section from the roof down through the second floor.
The first step of the process was to tear out a 4,800 s.f. section of the roof. Meanwhile, Clayco used tarps and a trough system to protect the building below from weather. Once the area was weather-tight, the team tore out the same opening on level seven, carefully preserving as much of the original hardwood floor as possible so that it could be reused in the units covering the former freight elevator shaft. The 120-by-15-foot chasm was reinforced with steel beams, metal framing, and a concrete slab. Before moving to level six, level seven was finished out with handrails, drywall soffits, elevator walls and stair walls. Clayco moved through each floor down to level two, tearing out and finishing before moving on to the next one. The process took approximately two weeks per floor. In addition to being the most efficient method for completing the work, it also alleviated a number of safety concerns by eliminating the need for scaffolding.
The central elevator extends to the roof, ending at a new elevator lobby between the two atrium skylights. Residents can visit the rooftop deck, which has a spectacular view of the city, or make use of the entertainment room and fitness center. These two amenities are housed in the masonry structure above the former freight elevator shaft. Each room continues the loft feel with interior exposed brick and ductwork. A mechanical room also is located in this structure.
The History
There are unique challenges involved in a project listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Forum and Clayco worked closely with the National Park Service and the City of St. Louis to ensure the design and subsequent construction met requirements to maintain the building’s historic status. The overall goal is to marry modern construction techniques with older construction and make it work for the modern use intended for the building.
Whenever possible, the team is reusing original materials in the new construction. As mentioned above, the floors removed from the center of the building were reused to cover the old freight elevator system. Throughout the building, the original wood floors were sanded down and refinished. There were a few areas in which the wood was too deteriorated and new floors were installed.
On the south and east sides of the building, the old steel windows were removed and replaced with aluminum windows. However, on the traffic-facing north and west sides, the team removed the original wood-framed windows and refurbished them at a local plant. The windows were re-stripped, insulated glass was added, and then they were reinstalled. The balconies also were custom-designed to recreate the historical feel of the building. Features include exposed steel shapes and wire mesh handrails.
Clayco also incorporated one of the original stairwells in the design, saving Orchard about $300,000. The cost for refurbishing the metal stairwell is minimal — it just requires repainting and an additional rail to meet code.
The Process
The design-build process is integral to the success of this project. With a typical plan and spec project, the contractor’s hands could be tied for months waiting for new designs or changes. The owner’s risk of add-ons would be huge with traditional plan and spec. Design-build protects the owner’s timetable and budget by putting the responsibility for the design on the contractor. Using design-build also is much more efficient for the contractor because in-house architects are available to solve design problems. It is important to be able to design and implement changes on the fly to keep the project on schedule. As problems are encountered, they can be immediately addressed and solved with the architects and contractor working together.
On the Ely Walker project, design-build has been very beneficial in the specification of individual units. Each one is customized to the owners’ preferences. As residents sign for a condo, they are given a list of all of the finish options. Those choices are then conveyed to the design-build team, which goes through the list and provides a complete estimate on the price of the unit. Once the estimate is approved, Clayco begins work on the interior finishes for the condo. Everything is completed within a much quicker timeframe than if it had to go through an architect, then the contractor. Instead, construction begins as soon as two weeks after the resident selects finishes.
This advantage is especially important in a historical building, which often presents surprises during demolition. For example, the construction team tore into a parapet wall to find the masonry rotten and, in places, completely gone. The engineering team immediately specified a piece of steel and new masonry. The balconies presented another challenge, as there was nothing to which to tie the balcony framing. So, the design team quickly found a solution, engineering a plate system to anchor the balconies.
Having architectural and engineering support available at all times also can prevent unnecessary work up-front. The team realized it could not do final detailing on the steel for the atrium until the demolition was complete. Instead, Forum Studio found a way to make all of the tube sizes for the atrium steel the same size and then specified the final piece so it would fit.
The Ely Walker Lofts
Although the project is not yet complete, the Ely Walker Lofts project has already demonstrated the benefits of the design-build delivery method. By using in-house architecture and engineering resources, along with the services of design-build subcontractor partners, the team has been able to respond quickly to changes and deliver an outstanding product for Orchard Development Group. Eames & Young would be proud to see their landmark building restored to a new glory.
INFO: Clayco (www.ClayCorp.com)