511 Marigny

511 Marigny St.

New Orleans, Louisiana

2013
A three-story former hosiery factory in Marigny is transformed into 47 modern lofts with a focus on highlighting the existing history and texture of the building.
Julian Mutter and Silent Partner, client
76,184 sf
Collaborators:

Wayne Troyer FAIA
Tracie Ashe AIA
Megan Cook

2014 Louisiana Landmarks Society Excellence in Historic Preservation

2013 Associated Builders and Contractors New Orleans/Bayou Chapter Excellence in Construction Award

Preservation in Print: “Artful Adaptation”

Photography:

Chad Chenier

Tracie Ashe

Project Type: Housing, Mixed Use

In the southern area of Faubourg Marigny, close to the Mississippi River, stands a three-story brick structure that once anchored the Alden Mills hosiery factory, founded in 1891. The two building masses were constructed in 1895 and 1916, respectively, and were used as warehouse and office space to a variety of businesses following the closing of the Mills in the mid-1950s.

An extensive adaptive re-use renovation resulted in forty-seven loft apartments and over 3,000 sq. ft. of commercial space at the corner of Marigny and Decatur Streets. Scope included interior buildout as well as a rooftop terrace (with the historic steel water tower structure as a feature) and restoration of an existing boiler pavilion as a shared outdoor space with pool adjacent to the building at ground level.

The building’s original rolled steel windows were still intact, in fair to good condition, and considered highly significant, it was decided early in the project to restore rather than replace them. Collaboration with our engineers resulted in a restoration which satisfied both thermal comfort and impact-resistance requirements, as well as standards for rehabilitation, allowing the project to utilize both federal and state historic tax credits.

In order to maintain the historic wood floors and exposed ceilings, existing pecan flooring was removed and reinstalled after the addition of interstitial acoustical layers to maximize separation between units. Heavy timber wood columns and beams, exposed masonry and steel fire doors were also retained within the building.