Historic tax credits were a factor in the renovation but didn’t cause Abbott and his team any heartache because they were seeking to bring the building back to its original specs. “We were correcting a lot of sins over the years that had been done, particularly, putting all the windows back in the building. It made such a difference on the streetscape to see a building with windows,” he says. “Before it was just this big, dark, hulking box. Now, with all the windows and people in their apartments, it just glows on the outside.”
Abbott says the outside walls originally contained two windows and the inside wall was composed of the shop window that faces the interior walkway. He says, fortunately, there were six windows left on the third floor that the team could use as a model when the windows were replaced. In all, 260 windows were put back into the building, which Abbott says allowed air to once again flow through the building and made the space feel clean and fresh.
Micro-lofts
Arcade Providence was basically built to contain a number of small stalls for retail spaces. Every 13th foot, a structural masonry wall extends vertically from the basement through the third floor. “We had these wonderful, little slots with windows at each end, so it was a perfect layout to do our little micro-lofts,” Abbott explains. “The living rooms are behind the shop window and face into the big, open-air arcade space. The two windows on the outside became the bedroom, which has its own little door. Then, in between the living room and bedroom, we put a little bathroom and a little kitchen.”
On the second floor, the micro-lofts are 275 square feet. Because the tiered building steps back 5 feet on the third floor, the lofts are smaller and were made into studios of 225 square feet. There are 48 living spaces total and, Abbott says, because of a couple “bump-outs” on the building, there actually are two two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit. “Believe it or not, the one bedrooms and studios rented immediately,” he says. “The two- and three-bedroom units lasted longest.”
Abbott believes the units were appealing because all the furniture is built in, except for one, movable chair. “That’s part of the key to making this whole thing work,” he says. “If somebody walked into this space, they would be like, ‘How am I going to get my king-size bed in here?’”
Abbott says he modeled the micro-lofts on yachts and used innovative hidden storage to make the units appealing. For example, the full-size bed is raised 30 inches off the floor and a four-drawer dresser is housed underneath. Between the two windows on the outside wall is a small closet for hanging clothes. Opposite the built-in bed, a twin-size Murphy bed folds down out of the wall for visitors.
What the 5- by 5-foot bathroom lacks in size it makes up for in style. It features black and white subway tiles with matching floor tile. The L-shaped kitchen includes nearly everything an urban dweller would need, including a three-quarter-size refrigerator, built-in microwave/convection oven and 18-inch dishwasher. The kitchen does not have a cooktop because of the building’s zoning classification as a rooming house. Abbott says everybody has a hotplate and, if a tenant wanted to, he or she could roast a chicken in the convection oven.
“Just like on a boat, everything has to be kept tidy,” Abbott says. “If somebody lets you pop in their unit, you’ll see they keep everything very neat, because everything is very close-in.”
The micro-lofts’ affordable rent, which starts at $550 per month, is not only attracting recent college grads. A number of retirees who want a second home in the city rented units and there are also a few corporations that rent units for their visiting executives. Currently, the units are fully rented and there are an astounding 400 names on a waiting list for the next opening. “There is like a 10 to one ratio of need for a unit,” Abbott says. “The upper two floors are just doing fabulously; they are fully rented and will be forever.”
Retail
Like the micro-lofts, the first-floor retail shops are designed to appeal to businesses that are just starting out. Many of the shop tenants are focused on fashion, selling jewelry, dresses and handbags; others sell antiques. One shop is rented by a former contestant of “Project Runway”, a reality show in which up-and-coming designers compete for a show during New York’s Fall Fashion Week.
PHOTOS: Ben Jacobsen, courtesy Northeast Collaborative Architects LLC