Photograph by Spine 3-D
Feature: Lofty Ideas
March 1, 2006
“Everybody knows the Eastern Columbia as the clock tower building or the blue terra-cotta building–it stands out from the rest of the buildings,” says
Kimberly Lucero, vice president of sales and marketing for the Kor Group, which is developing both projects. “There is appeal to being in a historical building.
A lot of people like being able to say, ‘I own in that building.’ ”
Superstar designer Kelly Wearstler revamped the interiors of the Eastern
Columbia. Its corridors are styled with broadloom carpet, pendant lighting and wall
sconces. Fluted paneling and antiqued mirrors adorn the lobby. While loft staples such
as concrete floors and 14-foot ceilings are present, the gourmet kitchens have European-style wood cabinetry, stone countertops and decorative lighting. The oversize bathrooms come with large soaking tubs, granite counters and tub
decks.
Marketing brochures for the building tout the softer new image that lofts now evoke: The address of the Eastern Columbia is not simply South Broadway and
Ninth Street–it is “located at the corner of concrete and cashmere.”
Indeed.
In the Los Angeles Downtown Arts District, Linear City is developing Biscuit Company Lofts in a ca. 1925 Nabisco bakery. The 104 lofts boast ceilings that range from 13 to 20 feet high, original 1-inch-thick maple floors and
panoramic views of the downtown skyline. Some of the lofts have two- and three-story layouts, with private rooftop gardens and fireplaces. The “super penthouse”
is a three-story unit of 3,600 square feet with its own private elevator, a
360-degree view of the city and more than 2,000 square feet of rooftop gardens. With
sales starting in March, projected pricing is from the $300,000s to more than $3 million. “We’re building on the great old style of lofts, but taking them
into the 21st century,” says Paul Solomon, managing partner of Linear City, which
projects occupancy in October 2006.
In New York, neighborhoods not traditionally associated with lofts are now sprouting them. In the Financial District, one block from Wall Street, 50
Pine Street is a collection of 20 lofts ranging in size from 1,200 to 3,050 square
feet in what was originally the corporate headquarters for Caledonian
Insurance. The developer, Philadelphia’s Metro Development, preserved much of the building’s old-world charm, from its carved granite entranceway to the Italian mosaic
marble hallway floors to the cast-iron elevator and stair ornamentation. “This area
was a frontier when we bought the building one and a half years ago, but it’s
turning into more and more of a neighborhood,” says David Grasso, CEO of Metro Development.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Inside one of the “soft lofts” at Luma in downtown Los
Angeles. (Click image to enlarge)
In cities with a short supply of older buildings, loft living is becoming so popular that developers are creating buildings that borrow from the past–essentially reproductions that look like conversions. “There’s not much
to convert here,” says Henry E. Harper-McCausland, CEO of Intrepid Real Estate
in Miami. He has built two Miami developments: Parc Lofts and the Filling
Station, both billed as “authentic loft concepts.”
“There is mostly sprawl in Miami, horizontal growth,” Harper-McCausland says. “All the construction is one- and two-story. My dilemma was, ‘How do I introduce lofts here? If I build new construction, will it seem like Disneyland? Will I be selling a false dream?’ ”
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