2006 Preservation Awards
American Tobacco Company Warehouses
738 Lorillard Court
[photo: Jason Tish]
738 Lorillard Court
Tobacco Lofts at Findorff Yards
Urban Land Interests, owner
Schroeder Murchie Niemiec Gazda-Auskalnis Architects
JH Findorff & Son Inc., contractor
Award: commercial rehabilitation
The Tobacco Lofts at Findorff Yards are a great example of what can be done with historic commercial buildings when the owner is committed to preserving and celebrating history. Too often someone buys an underutilized property and proceeds to see how much they can get away with, how many stories they can add, how big and profitable an addition they can glom on, invariably obliterating the original structure.
Urban Land Interests, on the other hand, formed by Tom Neujahr and Brad Binkowski in 1974, is a skillful and committed steward of historic buildings. The Lincoln School apartments on E. Gorham Street are an early example. And the American Exchange Bank on E. Washington Avenue at the Square, which houses their offices, is a true gem, tastefully updated with a 1994 addition.
Which brings us to the tobacco warehouses, the subject of this award. Built between 1899 and 1901 for the American Tobacco Company, the buildings housed a leaf tobacco operation. The western of the two buildings was designed by the prominent local firm of Claude & Starck. By 1919, the American Tobacco Company had been sold to the P. Lorillard Company, whose name can still be seen on the side of the buildings. Later, they were owned by JH Findorff & Son.
For the recent project, Urban Land took the lead in getting both buildings listed on the state and national registers. JH Findorff & Son served as general contractor and Schroeder Murchie Niemiec Gazda-Auskalnis Architects of Chicago did the design.
Over a hundred years later, these buildings are vibrant examples of urban living. Minimal changes were required because of their high degree of integrity. The two buildings offer 61 rental apartments to the Bassett Neighborhood. The robust and authentic materials are an integral part of the interior, including brick, timber, steel, glass, and stone. The Tobacco Loft apartments are heated and cooled with a geothermal closed-loop heat pump system, which meant the developer didn't have to put bulky utility equipment on the roof.
The lofts were completed in the spring of 2005 and are fully occupied. The warehouses are official Madison landmarks, nominated by the Trust in 1992. They are the only intact survivors of a once thriving tobacco industry in Madison.
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Other 2006 Award Winners
William and Fryetta Burmeister Residence
American Tobacco Company Warehouses
Ellsworth Block
23 N. Pinckney Street
Adolf and Edna Kannenberg Residence
Maurice and Elanor Johnson Residence
