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My husband and I are getting ready to relocate to my home town to renovate an 1847 main street building that my family owns. It was once an old hotel and it is really cool on the inside. Currently, the ground floor units are fully occupied retail.
We would like to create a loft space (mortgage free!) in the back 1/3 of the building. There is no plumbing but there is electricity. Also, there appears to be some type of furnace but we are not sure whether it works. It doesn't seem to be that old but we have owned the building for at least 15 years and to my knowledge it has never been turned on.
My question is - has anyone on here done this before? Do you have any pics you would like to share? What was your budget? I am looking for ideas....
Tons of people have done it, with budgets that range from $20k to $2 million+ I'm sure. Tons of things will affect your budget, but some of the big ones are:
- Where's the nearest plumbing that you can tie into? Is it underground in one of the retail spaces, or overhead where you can pump to it? (could be big $$ in either case).
- Is there proper/legal fire egress to/from the unit, and proper fire separation from the commercial use?
- What's the fuel source for the heating- gas, oil, electric? What about AC?
- Where is the project located? Prices in rural Arkansas will differ greatly from prices in NYC.
Plumbing- the closest plumbing is below the space the area we would like to have the bathrooms and kitchen.
There were brand new bathrooms put in almost directly below where we would like to put the bathroom. Also, there is at the very least water plumbed directly below where we would like to put the kitchen.
Basically, there is one giant room that could serve as the living space with stairs coming up from a mezzanine area. Across the back are three smaller rooms one that would serve as the kitchen, the bathroom in the middle, and the bedroom on the other side.
The only thing that would need to be done to the living area is paint and refinish the wood floors, which are in excellent shape.
We would have to put in a fire escape across the back of the building where the kitchen/bathroom/bedroom will be. Other entrances and exits are a freight elevator and the stairs from the mezzanine, which lead to more stares that go into the retail space with an exit in the front and back. Another option is a blocked off front staircase leading out to the sidewalk on the front of the building. The stair case is in excellent condition. All they did is put in some 2x4s over the door and tile. The door is still in tact and works. It is really pretty amazing. The stair case is not in the area we would be renovating but is easily accessed from that area. Just not sure about the fire issues.
I have no idea what the fuel source for heating is(our guess is gas) and there is no AC but I am not super worried about that. I have lived in a 3 story walk up in New York City for the past 5 years without AC. We have survived just fine. If all else fails we can get a window unit for the bedroom to sleep at night.
I am hoping we can do it for around $20,000 so we don't have to take out equity in the building. We have a place to stay in until it is finished so it doesn't have to done all at once.
The people across the street made a loft apartment in their building and spent about 80,000 dollars but that also included a new roof and windows. That space was completely open and about 6,000 square feet.
Since, our building does have rooms and it is not open we are looking at doing just the 1/3 of the middle floor, which is about 2,000 square feet.
I was going to buy this early 1900's farm house with a barn but the historical society had so many restrictions that I could not rennovate the way I wanted. Things I wanted to expand that are common in older homes to be small , Kitchen, and closets, and add a few bathrooms. Becareful about checking to see if it already considered a historical home and what are you restrictgion. Termite or wood rot, plumbing, heating, cooling and window replacement . These type of things can run the rennovation high.
Thank your for the heads up. The building is in an historic district but changes only pertain to the facade of the building.
In fact, I would like to look into getting a historical grant to improve the facade. Unfortunately, it was altered in the 20's and the beautiful front was replaced with a very plain stone front.
The hotel was actually almost an entire block. There was a fire and my guess is that this was the only part of the building with a fire wall as it was saved.
The town is also offering tax abatement for fixing up downtown buildings and residential properties. As the taxes are almost 4 grand a year this could ease the tax burden and I guess effectively reduce the cost of the renovation.
My mother just informed me that there are washer and dryer hookups in the basement so we might be able to save some money there. After 5 years, of walking bags of laundry 3 blocks and up and down 3 flights of stairs I think I can handle an elevator ride to the basement.
We also going to try and put the plumbing for the bathroom and kitchen all on one wall as they are side by side.
I am sooo jealous of you. I have always wanted to convert some old something else into a home, whether it was a hotel, a library, a school, etc.
I had a friend in NY who bought an old 1800's schoolhouse and turned it into his home. I looked at a factory once, but decided it was more than I could handle.
I hope that when you start working on this you will post some pictures so that we can all follow your progress.
Best of luck.
Can't really help, but I think heating the place would be your biggest concern. You should really speak with a well qualified HVAC designer/installer to see what you'll be facing. I imagine the place has high ceilings, and will lose heat rather quickly. I'm also assuming you have brick or non insulated walls which will also give you trouble with heat.
Good luck, it does sound like a great opportunity for you. Personally, I'd love to have that chance.
Yes, I imagine heating will be our biggest issue. Fortunately, because there is already a furnace in the open room (yes with very high ceilings) I am optimistic that we may only have to replace the furnace. The people across the street also put a pellet stove in that might be an option to reduce the heating costs.
If you could ever imagine living in rural Kansas then the opportunity is definitely attainable for you. A building on the same block as ours was sold to the current owner for $3,000. I am sure it needed extensive work.I think my parents bought this one for under $50,000, however, that was about 15 years ago. There are still bargains to had there. In fact, the first building on the right is for sale and it is really cool. There used to be apartments above it at some point.
The Board of Education building is also for sale and it would make a really neat loft space.
Here is a link to the town that it will be in: http://www.arkcity.net/viewbook/Citiesop.pdf (broken link)
You can't really see our building but it gives you an idea of how cute the downtown area is. They just completed a multi million dollar renovation of main street. I would love to move there and make it a little more livelier!
Obviously, there is no code restrictions about converting what would have to be commercial, to residential. Or, did the "neighbor" across the street have to get a zoning change?
Small town politics I know- but just wondering.?
What was the space you're considering? One large open area doesn't sound like hotel rooms to me.
I am not sure about the zoning. There are actually several commercial buildings downtown with living space above so I don't think it will be a problem. I think the :neighbor's" across the streets building was already zoned for commercial/residential. You can look at the property tax records and it has two different appraisal values one commercial and one residential. Although, that could have changed after they renovated but I don't think so. We actually looked at buying the place and she told me that it hadn't been reappraised since it was renovated.
Yes, the large open space doesn't sound like a hotel. I have no idea how the building was originally laid out as it is impossible to tell. There have been modifications. The part that is like walking into an 1880's hotel is actually separated from the large open room. There are double doors in the big room that lead to a long hallway with little rooms on both sides. Beyond, that are three rooms that go across the front and then a beautiful wooden staircase that leads up to half floor with 4 more rooms and access to the roof. The building is about 18,000 square feet so there is lots of variety to the space.
It is kind of difficult to explain. I just love the building. In high school, my friends and I would go up there and hang out. We had such a great time.
I don't have any pics of it or I would post them. My sister is living in AC now so maybe I can get her to snap some....
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Thanks for the tips
