Much progress has been made on Frontier Group of Companies’ Seneca Street Lofts project at 550 Seneca Street. A healthy group of workers are getting closer to completion under the direction of construction superintendent David Russell, who provided a tour of the building along with co-developer David Pawlik, who owns CSS Construction, the general construction firm that is renovating the 98,000 sq. ft. complex.
A compartmentalized first floor was opened up to provide secured enclosed parking for 78 cars. “There used to be some walls here,” said Russell as we surveyed the vast enclosed parking area. It is still a work in progress. “It took a lot of work just to get it to this point.”
The 41 apartments come with an average unit cost of around $131,000 to build-out. The high ceilings will remain exposed, providing a modern industrial look. “There is a lot of prep work that goes into leaving them exposed,” said Pawlik. In the end, the extra work put into refinishing the raw surfaces produces the desired look, which is what differentiates these urban dwellings from their more standard counterparts.
The focal point in the impressive units are the panoramic operable windows which provide views of Larkinville to the east and downtown to the west. They are manufactured by Gamma (formerly CBO Glass) who employ several hundred people at their facility on Broadway in Alden.
Softened floor finishes including hardwood floors, high-end carpet and ceramic tile will soon be laid over the bare concrete.
In addition to the apartments, there is 7500 square feet of dividable retail/restaurant space.
The exterior will be one of the last things to be tackled. “It will soon be parged with epoxy filler and then painted,” commented Pawlik. This will give the former gritty industrial space a bright and fresh look to top off the rehab, adding another completed high end reuse to the Larkinville corridor.
Carmina Wood Morris designed the adaptive re-use project, stylistically combining the best qualities of the former warehouse structure with the materials and amenities expected by today’s urban dwellers. Occupancy is scheduled for May 2015.
Developer Frontier Group of Companies is also involved in a large mixed-use rehab at neighboring 500 Seneca and are planning to co-develop a new build containing 78 apartments on Ohio Street.
