Our Fixer Upper: Amsden Building Progress

     Demo is complete and now we are beginning to put the pieces back together at our latest project, The Amsden building.  Not a lot of visible progress will be made at the in the next few weeks since we will be beginning to install new HVAC, plumbing, and electricity throughout the building (boring for me but it has to be done!).  Some new framing has been installed to separate the coffee shop and store area downstairs which I wanted to share.

Above you can see a good view of the new wall from the store looking into the coffee shop area.  There is an extra large and tall doorway and also a large opening at the top of the wall to allow as much natural light as possible to flow throughout the spaces.  We want both areas to flow easily together and not feel completely separate, which is why we opted for a more open feel.

Above you can see a view from the opposite angle, coffee shop into the store.  I'm hoping to find a reclaimed door for this doorway with lots of glass so you can still see into the store a bit even when it's closed.  Below you can see a better view of how the wall splits in between the wall of tall windows.

They also finished tearing out the old HVAC system which used to be sticking out below these stairs in the top left corner.  All the brick is exposed on the left side of the building and the two doorways into the 3rd retail space have been framed to be closed off.  I'm going to keep the fireplace and old mantle as a feature piece of the store, restoring it as much as possible.

Above you can see the coffee shop area with the bathroom framed in on the right.  The entire area from the bathroom wall extending left to the window will be the counter.  Since one window will be behind the counter, we are wanting to have a walk-up ordering window from the outside of the shop too!

Another look at the bathroom which will be shared between the store and coffee space.  Below you can see the front door which was originally completely boxed in by walls as a tiny entryway.

This old commercial door is definitely going and we are having a wood and glass double door made that will be a replica of the original doors that were on the building.  I love the original stain glass detail that is above all the windows!

This is the 3rd space which will hopefully be housed by a bar/beer hall concept.  This was originally very closed off into multiple tiny rooms with much lower ceilings that covered those top windows.  They have framed out a new ceiling at the 14 foot height which was original to the building.

A look from the entrance into the back wall, which still looks pretty rough as these walls have not been fully stripped down yet.  We did uncover two more large windows in the back right corner which we will restore to give even more light in here.  We are also hoping to expose the brick oh this back wall like in the front two spaces on the main floor.

Above you can see the right side wall which features another uncovered fireplace that we will strip down the the exposed brick and restore as much as possible.  I'm hoping to expose the brick all the way up to the ceilings on all of the fireplaces to highlight the tall ceilings and create an architectural focal point in the room.

One more look at the back wall and new ceiling framing.  You can see a large header that was added in the center for support as there used to be a wall separating the space there.  That's all the updates on the main floor that I have for now!  You can catch up on this project and view some more before + demo photos here; + for more information about leasing opportunities at the Amsden building visit here!

xoxo

Emily