Another Blog
or How to Develop 2 Apartments and a bunch of Office Space with no BudgetMay 31, 2008
We got a C.O. today... Certificate of Occupancy. So it’s official. We can live here. Now the real work of finishing the place begins...
May 6, 2008
The apartments are so close we can almost taste them... the spiral stair for my side is almost complete, and the other fire safety items are in place. Floors have their second coat on, cabinets are in, tile is up, fixtures in place, and appliances installed. Hot water is running... can’t believe it will finally be done, in time for use to move all our stuff, paint, settle in...
May 5, 2008
A local organization, PADS 02860, blogged recently about the loss of the historic tax credits and what it means to the City of Pawtucket. As the city has had more than it’s share of prospective investors ready to rehab a historic structure, it is really sad that these buildings will continue to rot. They gave us a nice shout out... Thanks guys. Maybe we can bring the credits back next year after the assembly sees how much investment was lost.
April 3, 2008
You know that scene in Hight Club when they are hitting golf balls on Paper Street and there is no one else around, not even another house? It feels like that in Pawtucket some times... and other times, it is crowded. Pawtucket is the new Olneyville, and I am not sure if the City knows that that is a compliment.
March 29, 2008
Obviously, we have made it... check out this post Ryan found on Craigslist:
scent of a lover... - w4w - 19
i smelled your fart during the black clouds set... it was so potent that i sware i was SEEING black clouds. black clouds of lust. it was the strangest thing.....as if i was breathing for the first time. someone turned to me and said “jesus christ, it smells like crumbled feta under someone’s fingernails!” but all i could think to myself was....“really?” because it was the sweetest aroma i have ever experienced. better than fresh baked muffins... or sweet tangerines... or ripe red raspberries... hot fresh pizza... please, i’m begging... i need to meet this person. male or female. i believe we could be meant for eachother. you have left me spellbound. i’ve been searching for that same scent in the most disgusting of places, but i can’t seem to find anything quite like it. my god... my... god.
* Location: the grant, pawtucket
February 13, 2008
We had a record amount of rain in the area yesterday. Something like 2 inches in an hour (the water level on the Blackstone down the street jumped from 3000 cubic feet per second to over 5000), which is dangerous. This old building suffered some leaks, for sure, and it was pretty frustrating, but not as scary as some of the roofs that have collapsed throughout the city. Or, not as frustrating as some of the brand new roofs that still sprung leaks. So all in all, I guess we were lucky.
July 30, 2007
I think we need one of these: A Build-it-Yourself Vertical Wind Turbine
June 11, 2007
Kafe Lila opened to much fanfare on Saturday. She had a great turn-out and people sampled a lot of her soon-to-be-famous ice cream. Thanks to everyone who came out. Now that the summer days are getting hotter, make sure to come over for some ice cream and take a walk down to the river to bask in the historic and creamy goodness.
May 21, 2007
Downtown Pawtucket has finally been officially listed on the National Register. Hooray! So now we have to get our paperwork in and take advantage of the tax credits...
April 15 2007
Last Thursday around 2:00pm, after 3 inches of rain in about an hour, our sewer pipe (what remained of our pipe that we didn&rsquol;t already replace) collapsed, backing sewer water (Mmmm...) into the lowest spot, Flying Shuttles’ toilet. After some tense moments and hours diverting water to the auxilliary line, and 18 hours by our contractor, Eddy and Sons (literally), digging the old pipe out on Saturday, we have PVC all the way to the city’s 24 inch main line. May we never have to deal with this $#!† again.
Meanwhile, we had a very successful closing reception for the Statewide Preservation Conference put on by the RIHPHC. We were lucky enough that they picked Pawtucket as the host city this year, never mind that they brought over 250 new people through the space. All this following a successful opening party for our newest tenant, Circuit BMX. Aside from the pipe break, it was a pretty good weekend.
The saddest part of the weekend, was NOT hearing back from the Park Service about the status of the application for a National Register district in downtown Pawtucket. We were hoping they would announce the good news at the conference. Alas, the waiting for our tax credit money continues.
February 7 2007
From the Boston Globe... it seems people are paying attention to Pawtucket.
January 23 2007
From one of our tenants, John Speck, and his Bucket Blog.
January 10 2007
In anticipation of our party this weekend, more progress has
been made, though we admit, you might not know it by just walking or driving
by. The most noticable change to the facade of the building so far is the
new coat of gloss black paint on the doors. They look great. But the rest
of the front of the building is the same, and will probably remain until
the spring. The inside, however, keeps looking better. Some new lights
came in, the ductwork is back in place for the heat system, interior doors
have been repainted and suite numbers attached, the floors are pretty clean
and will be cleaned again before the party. Tenants have moved more stuff
in. This place is starting to really feel like it is happening.
As an aside, my friend Tracey came to my office and cleaned one of the restrooms. This bathroom hasn't been clean since it was built sometime in the seventies. You can tell. But now, it gleams. She is amazing. If anyone needs their house cleaned, give Tracey a call.
January 5 2007
Hello all. This is the first entry, technically, but we will eventually
backtrack and provide a timeline of events that led up to this
point. Right now, most, but not all, of the work is done, so there
will still be plenty to talk about. But we also realized that there
are plenty of other small (tiny, really) developers out there that
have similar stories to tell, so we wanted to make ours known as
well, because often it is the little guy that gets overlooked.
Today, I am working in my studio, and the only frustrating thing about that is the way i am a developer and also a designer when I am here. I have two jobs. And until the Grant is done, i will always be wearing those two hats. Really, that is the most frustrating part about doing a small development like this. It requires the work of a full time job, with no paycheck. At least no paycheck for the first few years. At the same time, when a neighbor walks in and they look happy to be here, well, that feels pretty good.
November 11 2006
(posted Jan 5) Jamie and I rented a truck and the Big Move began.
We packed some, but not all, as we worked up until yesterday,
and want to start working again on Monday. It's amazing how
little it all seems to take up in the back of a big truck,
and yet, there is a whole lot of stuff there. At about 5:00
we head to Stanleyburger for a good meal, and then back onto
the truck to unload at the Grant. At about 11:00 we finally
finished and headed over ot the Ivy Tavern for a well-deserved
Guinness.