Transforming older, historic buildings into apartment rental units opens myriad opportunities for developers beyond simply saving a neighborhood building. The process enables them to create unique floor plans and hip spaces that resonate with many of today’s renters and lease up quickly. These adaptive reuse projects are often costlier than new construction and fraught with challenges, but the consensus among developers is that the reward is worth the risk. “It’s economic development,” says Nick Anderson, a developer with Plymouth, Minnesota-based Dominium. “Converting these historic structures into apartments is very labor-intensive, so the projects generally create a lot of construction jobs. The properties themselves become their own little communities and can have a catalyzing effect on the surrounding neighborhood.” Preserving history Dominium completed construction of Millworks Lofts in Minneapolis in July of this year. The 78-unit affordable housing property was 100 percent leased prior to opening its doors in August, says Anderson. The building, which dates back to the 1920s and was formerly home to Lake Street Sash & Door Co., is on the National Register of Historic Places. Dominium purchased the vacant building in 2016 and financed the project using both federal and state historic tax credit equity. All major …
