Behind the Scenes: Historic Whitlock Place Grand Opening

November 21, 2016November 22, 2016

Last week, Flaherty & Collins Properties held a Grand Opening ceremony of Historic Whitlock Place. Historic Whitlock Place is an adaptive reuse development that creates 56 apartment homes in the historic Culver Union Hospital in downtown Crawfordsville.

“We are excited to open Historic Whitlock Place,” said Julie Collier, Vice President of Development with Flaherty & Collins Properties, at the event. “This is truly a remarkable, transformative project for Crawfordsville and the greater neighborhood and community.”

Historic Whitlock Place consists of studio, one and two bedroom apartments. Nearly every unit is an individual, unique design, and features Energy Star windows and appliances to achieve the Silver level of National Green Building Standards for energy efficiency.

Historic detailing within the building were retained through construction, such as bullnose plaster corners, terrazzo floors, unique wood-frame windows, and painted stencil detailing in the hallways. Community Activity areas include a community atrium, a community room with a TV, a computer room with free internet access, and an exercise room with equipment. The exterior will also be landscaped with trees, shrubs and garden seating. Paved parking is also be provided on-site.

“It was extremely important to keep the historical aspects of the building and enhance the exterior and interior look and feel of the building,” said Collier. “We’re thrilled with the results of Culver’s transformation.”

Crawfordsville, consistently rated in the Top 100 Best Small Towns in America, is looking forward to this residential project in downtown that will serve seniors and families in need of quality housing. A historical rich community, Crawfordsville features cultural trail links, parks and many other forms of recreation.

“Identifying an appropriate adaptive reuse for the former Culver Hospital has been a top priority and I am confident Historic Whitlock Place will fit nicely with our efforts to create a more livable community,” said Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton at the groundbreaking in June 2015.

The project is a collaborative effort between Sustainable Solutions, Vision Communities, Flaherty & Collins Properties, the City of Crawfordsville, Palma Architects, and McKinley Development. Historic Whitlock Place is funded by the National Equity Fund, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. Merchants Bank of Indiana was the construction bridge lender for the development.

Hoffman Hotel Apartments Open, Artists Welcome

April 13, 2016

Today, the Hoffman Hotel Apartments open in South Bend, and our management team is on hand to oversee the festivities. And just moments ago, the bells were rung to officially open this very cool project, designed with the creative artists in mind.

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Originally built in the early 1900s, Hoffman Hotel is a historic, 12-story building at Main and LaSalle in South Bend.

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Now that the rehab has been completed, South Bend has its first housing complex for artists.

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“From the city’s perspective, artists are considered an early adaptor and they maybe lead the way into someplace that folks are nervous to get into,” said William Hollingsworth, Principal with Equal Development, LLC.

So how about a quick pictorial tour?

The apartments – to be entirely occupied by artists – feature sliding doors, Murphy beds, and lockers salvaged from the old St. Joseph HighSchool.

It’s a pretty sweet concept, not to mention an eye-appealing one as well.

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The bathroom will certainly jog the creativity loose each morning when artists are getting ready.

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And with a kitchen like this, it might change the notion of the “starving artist”:

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The grand lobby will serve as a gallery, where works of art will be displayed or performed.

“They’re actually going to go in front of an artist committee,” explained Tami Chin, Property Manager of Hoffman Hotel Apartments and a member of the Flaherty & Collins Properties management team. “We’re not here to judge their art work; we just want to see what they’re going to give back to the community.”

Don’t worry, artists will be able to create their work in house. A 12th floor community studio gives residents a picturesque place to create their art.

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And did we mention the view from the studio?

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Residents will be comprised of multiple types of artists: anything from chefs to musicians, from painters to sculptors, and from dancers to actors.

Apartments homes are designed to be affordable at Hoffman Hotel Apartments, with a studio in the neighborhood of $550 and a two bedroom unit priced right around $700.

For more information on the Hoffman Hotel Apartments call 574-233-1400. Special thanks to our own Gavin Greene for the photos.

Historic Greensburg Opens

August 12, 2015August 17, 2015

Thrive Alliance and Flaherty & Collins Properties officially opened Historic Greensburg Square today, completing the final piece of a 15-month rehab of downtown Greensburg. Residents, city officials, planners and investors in the project joined representatives of the Greensburg-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce on the steps of the former Decatur County YMCA to formally cut the ribbon on the Historic Greensburg Square adaptive reuse project during a grand opening ceremony Wednesday afternoon.

Historic Greensburg Square, which broke ground in April of 2014, is an adaptive reuse of four vacant historic buildings, in close proximity, for uses that benefit the community of Greensburg by increasing downtown housing opportunities. The redevelopment enhances and celebrates the historic character and charm of downtown Greensburg. Historic Greensburg Square residents will enjoy immediate access to many local downtown amenities.

The project has been a collaborative effort between Isaac Larrison, Thrive Alliance, Flaherty & Collins Properties and the City of Greensburg. Thrive Alliance developed the project, and Flaherty & Collins Properties served as partner, guarantor, general contractor and property manager. Studio Three serves as the architect & engineer, and McKinley Development as finance consultant.

“We are thrilled to officially open Historic Greensburg Square. This has been an exciting project – from a community standpoint being able to provide downtown housing coupled with services, but also from a historic preservation standpoint.” said Duane Miller, Vice President of Community for Flaherty & Collins Properties. “There is a lot of excitement in the community over this project and we are ready to share the results of all the efforts.”

“This was a very challenging project to complete, especially the Seitz Hotel and adjacent building which were heavily damaged in the 2011 tornado that hit Decatur County,” said Mark Lindenlaub, Executive Director of Thrive Alliance. “Renovating four vacant historic buildings – including the YMCA – has already brought a lot of positive energy to the courthouse square area. We’ve felt fortunate to be part of this exciting addition to the Greensburg downtown.”

Greensburg Mayor Gary Herbert noted how important the YMCA was in his youth and said he was glad the city was able to work with Thrive Alliance, Indianapolis-based development/property management firm Flaherty & Collins Properties, and the numerous banks and other corporate and nonprofit entities involved in bringing the project to fruition.

Apartment units are designed to hit National Green Building Standard Gold level. Energy use is expected to be 20 percent less than conventional construction.

Historic Greensburg Square is funded by Alliant Capital, Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority, The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, City EDIT Funds, Alma Taylor Foundation, and deferred development fees. First Merchants Bank and MainSource Bank supported the project by providing funds for the construction bridge loan for the development.

For more information on Historic Greensburg Square, visit www.historicgreensburg.com.

Clark’s Crossing Opens

March 19, 2015

An exciting day for our Flaherty & Collins Properties team yesterday, as we opened two new affordable developments in Southern Indiana.

We covered the first, Downtown Terrace, last week. Today, we take a look at the actual festivities in Vincennes, Ind. for the truly grand opening of Clark’s Crossing, a senior living center that features 47 unique affordable apartment homes. It is an adaptive reuse of two historic buildings.

A collaborative effort between Myszak + Palmer, Flaherty & Collins Properties, Vincennes Community School Corporation (VCSC), The Vincennes Education Foundation and Vision Communities, the project involved the reuse of the old Clark Middle School and Adams Coliseum. Kuhl & Grant, LLP provided legal services and McKinley Development, LLC provided consulting services on the project.

The development used the sale of historic tax credits and rental housing tax credits to turn the two buildings into a senior living facility in the heart of downtown Vincennes. Additional funding was provided by HOME and Development Fund Loans. Flaherty & Collins Properties will manage the property.

“We’re excited to officially open Clark’s Crossing,” said Duane Miller, Vice President of Community & Asset Management for Flaherty & Collins Properties. “There is a lot of excitement in the community over this project and we are ready to share the results of all the efforts to see the best senior living facility in Vincennes come to fruition.”

“Everybody wants to come and take a look,” added Andy Myszak, of Myszak + Palmer. “We have had a few groups through the buildings already, but until now, not a lot of people have seen the final product.”

First residents were welcomed in late February. Spacious one and two-bedroom apartment homes offer a fully equipped kitchen with energy efficient appliances, hardwood flooring, over-sized closets, and washer and dryer. Energy Star HVAC and windows will assist in reducing ongoing monthly utility bills. The unit mix includes 35 one bedroom units, 10 two-bedroom units and two efficiency units. Five units have been set-aside for special needs households.

Residents of Clark’s Crossing will also enjoy a business center, clubhouse, emergency maintenance, high-speed internet access and controlled building access. Additionally, residents will have easy access to all of the services and amenities of downtown Vincennes, most notably services and events offered in the Community Service Center, which is directly adjacent to the property in Adams Coliseum.

Part of the project included the restoration of Adams Coliseum (shown above in a 1920s rendering), which hosted its first basketball game at the end of February. New, brighter lighting, painted bleachers and new windows now adorn the historic gym. Adams Coliseum will be run by The Vincennes Education Foundation, and will include programming that will encourage resident and community interaction.

As a tribute to that interaction, our very own Development Team, led by F&C team member Daniel Murphy, played to the crowd – literally – yesterday. Daniel is an accomplished pianist, and showed off his immense skills in tickling the ivories at the event.