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Rough-hewn beams and exposed bricks make for trendy design, but when is adaptive reuse good for business?
"It was love at first sight," says Peter Behrle, CEO, The Behrle Group, Verona, New Jersey. A consortium of office furniture dealers and interior design firms, Behrle's companies had operated for 20 years in a 7,500-sq.ft. Victorian house. Now they needed twice the space. After looking at roughly 100 different properties within 15 miles, the company discovered a former bronze powder mill just down the road.
Built in 1890, the 1,500-sq.ft. building had been a working factory until 1986. It had been empty for 10 years when Behrle, the owner, and architect Aztec, Iselin, New Jersey outlined a renovation scheme. Says Behrle, "All the columns, beams, and bricks had been painted an industrial green, but we could envision what it would be like stripped."
For a design group, the space offered numerous advantages: a riverside location in a mixed neighborhood of homes and offices, an affordable price, and loads of atmosphere. "We wanted something unique, and could create that with this space," says Behrle. "We did a magnificent build out, yet we can rent it on a relatively long-term basis for much less than can be found in the marketplace for grade A space."
The landlord brought the building up to code and Behrle added $350,000 in lighting, carpeting, and finishes. His firm's closing ratio has improved significantly since the move.
Not for everyone
For design firms, ad agencies, dot com companies, and yuppies with a yen for exposed brick, adaptive reuse projects provide a great combination of historical pastiche and room for modem wiring and mechanicals. But there can be hitches. Abatement and environmental considerations, among others, often make demolition and building from scratch more economically attractive. Architects and builders typically estimate brownfield and adaptive reuse projects only constitute about 15 percent of their work.
"Abatement is always an issue," says George Cavallo, vice president and district manager for the construction firm Gilbane in Philadelphia. "In the 1920s you had lead paint and asbestos going into buildings, so you have to do an extensive abatement and structural survey." He recommends getting a clear understanding of abatement costs, which are as much as $5 to $6...