Significant changes are happening to the two areas of the building: the roof and the basement. Before we bought the building, we knew that it had stood vacant for many years, in part because the economic model for its future wasn’t clear to prospective buyers. When we looked into the economics of resurrecting the building, one thing was clear: it would not be able to be profitable by renting out 4 floors of apartments. If we charged comparable prices for the neighborhood, the numbers just didn’t add up. So we decided to utilize a combined approach: 3 floors of yearly rentals and nightly rentals on the first floor and basement. We had also noticed that the further up we went in the building, the more beautiful the views. We eventually decided that in order to complete our sustainable economic model and provide a unique nightly-rental experience, we would also build 4 rooftop cabins on top of the building to take advantage of the exceptional view.
Right now the rootop cabins will look a bit odd. The building itself is somewhat monolithic, and adding height to a tall skinny building is admittedly an unusual approach. But in time our design will hopefully prove itself. Keep in mind that the final finishes for the cabins are not yet applied. In addition, an elevator tower of similar height is being built to the building’s west. This will balance out the monolithic feeling that we currently feel. In addition, plans for landscaping around the building and adjacent park include dozens of trees that will grow to a height to complement the building’s height. Small trees will be added to the roof to separate the various patios. Solar panels will be added to the roofs of the cabins, somewhat hidden by the sides of the cabins.
Here’s a view of the building and rooftop cabins as seen from our neighbor, the North Cass Community Garden.
The basement is currently under construction, too. In addition to space for our HVAC equipment, we will have a laundry facility (4 washers and dryers), storage for tenants and two hostel rooms, one for men and one for women, in addition to bathrooms for each. Here’s how the various spaces currently look.
