Items Tagged ‘department store’
Pomeroy’s Plan Includes Apartments
Synopsis:
The former Pomeroy’s Department store in Easton, Pennsylvania, will soon see a new purpose thanks to the building’s new owner, Mark Mulligan. Similar redevelopment plans for the shuttered store have come along during its vacant years going back to 1976. Those plans all failed to take off, but Mulligan’s is nearing construction and awaiting one final commission approval in April. The plans currently call for demolishing the middle of the structure to allow for a new courtyard. The 20 apartments that will be housed in the building will all look out over the new courtyard. In addition to the housing, ground level retail will be created at the front of the building to provide new services to the surrounding community. Thanks to its location, the developer hopes to rent the apartments to Lafayette College students nearby, thus bringing more students into downtown and helping to spur further revitalization efforts. A second phase of the project, still in planning, is to convert the rear seven-story tower into commercial and office space.
Craig And Wilson Building Conversion Speeds Up Downtown
Synopsis:
Construction is underway at the historic Craig & Wilson Building in Gastonia, North Carolina. Originally built as a livestock feed and carriage house, the building is being completely remodeled as 16 condominium units. Most recently used for a department store, the building is seeing new light as nearly 100 windows are being installed (replacing the current five windows). The four story building is planned to open by the end of the year and will also include retail on the first floor. The project is a partnership between the developer, McAllister Development, and the City of Gastonia. Due to its location downtown, the city had applied for and was awarded a $2.6 million grant through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program to bring the structure back to life. This grant means that the price of the condo units must be based on median income standards in the Charlotte region. This type of pricing will help to encourage new life in downtown Gastonia while at the same time new services through the retail storefronts.
Hanny’s
Synopsis:
History
Built in downtown Phoenix in 1947, the Hanny’s three-story department store was heralded as “an architectural divergence” for Downtown Phoenix and also for bringing a “new look,” architecturally speaking, to the city. The store included a basement level as well as mezzanine. “Hanny’s is recognized as the best International Style commercial building in Phoenix, and possibly in Arizona. The building itself recognized the city’s entry into the modern post World War II commercial era and significantly influenced commercial building design in the 1950s.” Designed by local architects Royal Lescher and Leslie Mahoney, the building served as home to the department store until it closed in 1986. It was vacant for a short time until the City of Phoenix purchased the building as a fire-testing facility.[1]
(Re)Developer
Owner Karl Kopp owns a number of restaurants across the United States including AZ88 in Scottsdale, Elsa’s on the Park in Milwaukee, and Bar 89 in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood.
Scottsdale-based Janis Leonard was commissioned to handle the interior remodel of the space. Leonard also does seasonal installations at Kopp’s AZ88.[2]
Outcome
Kopp developed the adaptive reuse plan for the old Hanny’s building out of a land-swap deal with Phoenix. He owned another building that he was planning to use for a restaurant but Phoenix wanted that site as part of Arizona State University’s downtown campus. Kopp received preservation funds with the swap in order to replace the Hanny’s roof.[3]
The ground floor of the building already included an open floor plan and two-story ceiling height that made adapting it for a restaurant easy. The interior had to be repaired due to the numerous fire damage with custom-made bricks. The changing rooms on the mezzanine were gutted to make way for extra seating and restrooms.[4] Hanny’s is making its mark on Phoenix once again.
