Old building is a modern gem

The Old Market's P.E. Iler building has been transformed.

Once an empty warehouse that stuck out for its disrepair, the renovated Iler at 1113 Howard St. stands to become a new gem in the heart of the market.

Now the upscale Old Marketplace Apartments project is turning heads and earning praise from its neighbors and city planners, who had grown frustrated by years of delays and the owner's desire to sit on the six-story property.

“With that building completed, it's going to make a big difference down in the Old Market,” said Deb Skinner, president of the Old Market Business Association.

Developer Don Prochaska, a local architect who bought the building 22 years ago, said he realizes the project has been “challenging” for his neighbors. But he said he's pleased with the work and hopes it builds on the Old Market's charm.

“We hope that we have invested enough of our time and energy and assets that we can bring the entire level of the area up,” Prochaska said.

He said he is making an ambitious bet — and a nearly $16 million investment — on a 109-year-old building.

The building's 22 rental apartments, which have up to 1,488 square feet, are now finished and will rent for between $1,725 and $2,010 a month. Fourteen of the units are two-bedroom, and the rest are one-bedroom.

So far, three of the units have been rented.

At the street level on Howard Street, the building will have commercial space, although the area remains unfinished.

Prochaska's firm, Prochaska & Associates, is in line to relocate to that space from its Old Mill location. But Prochaska said he also is considering leasing out the space, and several potential tenants have expressed interest.

By next year, Prochaska and his wife hope to live in a sixth-floor unit overlooking Howard Street. That space also is unfinished, and Prochaska said he is still considering the design.

“The problem with being an architect is you're never quite satisfied with how things are,” he said.

The Iler mixes historic character and modern features.

In the apartments, original wood beams and exposed brick blend with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. In back of the building, a new structure was added on to provide a tenant entrance and elevator.

The building has the rare combination of a place on both the National Register of Historic Places and the registry of green buildings that comply with the nationally respected LEED program.

Those registrations help explain the project's extended schedule.

The Iler's historic status qualifies the project for tax credits to help fund renovation, as long as the project maintains the building's historic integrity. But Prochaska wanted to install new, energy-efficient windows, and needed to get his plan through the National Park Service, which oversees the historic registry.

Prochaska said the LEED certification process presented its own requirements.

“We probably were our own worst enemy,” he said.

Despite frustration among city planners, the city stuck with Prochaska on the project and backed it with tax-increment financing. Earlier this year, the City Council upped the city's property tax incentives from $1 million to $1.15 million.

Ken Johnson, economic development manager for the City Planning Department, said the project “has taken a little too long to get done,” but is a good addition to downtown. It will preserve a historic building and offer rentals at a time when buildings are converting to condos.

“We're very satisfied with the end product,” Johnson said.

Prochaska said he could have spent a couple of million dollars to renovate the first two floors with “lipstick and awnings.” By waiting, he said, the timing is right for an upscale Old Market renovation to pay off.

“Now the hard work starts,” Prochaska said. “We've got to populate the building.”

Contact the writer:

444-1128, jeff.robb@owh.com

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