Client
Lofts at the Kendall
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
Year
2016
After sitting vacant for many years, the 100+ year old Kendall Building was given new life after First Companies was hired to gut the inside and make it the beautiful mixed-use building it is today. The complex renovation included adding an elevator shaft in the center of the structure, and coordinating with Consumers Energy to create a new underground transmission vault to service the Kendall and neighboring buildings.
Tenants enjoy close proximity to Veteran’s Park, the Children’s Museum, and Civic Theater, as well as an extended stairway and elevator that provide easy access to the rooftop deck overlooking downtown. Due to the small footprint, and tight restraints of the building, the team had to get creative when it came to the utilities, water heaters, and residential storage available in each unit.
The historic terrazzo floor and glass tile in the main entrance was preserved, as was the grand stairway. A new external fire escape was added with stairs to the backside of the building where there is an alley that tenants can also use for deliveries. Today the Kendall houses 12 apartments above the second-floor offices, and offers valuable restaurant space on the ground level.
“There were many challenges and limitations with this project given there was no street frontage or access for materials storage, loading, and unloading. We had to coordinate well with the neighbors and use the back alley. We are very proud of the way this project turned out, including our ability to maintain the historic front façade.”
– Craig Schroeder, Project Manager
