Photos by J. Alan Paul Photography
Originally constructed in 1929, The Historic Union on Northern Pacific Avenue is a Fargo landmark worthy of a first-class restoration. Thanks to architect William F. Kurke, this warehouse is considered one of North Dakota’s best examples of Art Deco-style industrial architecture. Recognizing a diamond in the rough, development partners and cousins Jessica Alsop and John Williams have taken on the hefty project of restoring the warehouse to its original charm. Preserving the original brick and existing layout, Alsop and Williams have turned this abandoned warehouse into 38 unique lofts and have already started on the plans for the impressive retail and commercial spaces.
Inside the Lofts:
In all, 38 loft units are now available for leasing, ranging from $850 to $2,000 depending on the size of the unit. Tenants are scheduled to move in October 1st. Layouts consist of one, two and three bedroom units, with a washer and dryer in all lofts.
The View
Most of the units on the first floor have patios or some type of outdoor space with a fantastic view of the eclectic downtown atmosphere. A community room will also be available for use by the tenants and an elevator will be installed. Due to the historic status of the building, each of the units is unique to the original layout of the building so no two spaces are identical. In fact, Alsop says there are actually roughly 12 completely different loft designs.
Rich History
Listed on The National Register of Historic Places, the warehouse was once known as The Union Storage & Transfer Cold Storage Warehouse and Armour Creamery buildings.
Original Features
At just under 14 feet, exposed concrete ceilings create nearly soundproof environments for even the noisiest of tenants. “One of the things people are always amazed at is when they tour the lofts, they can’t hear anything, including the nearby trains,” says Jessica Alsop. Exposed brick has been restored to it’s original beauty and original concrete floors have been sanded, polished and sealed to reveal remnants of it’s original warehouse history. Maple trim throughout each loft adds a warm touch to original concrete and exposed brick.
Designer Tenant
Mary Lystad, one of the partners at designingwomen2, happens to be the first tenant. Lystad and her husband, Jeff, recently started the move into their new loft and allowed us to view the first finished unit of the building. With three adult kids and wanting to spend more time at the lake, the Lystads put their Rose Creek home on the market to start the downsize. Luckily, next-door neighbor John Williams had just the place for them to start their new downtown life.
Lystad’s Loft:
An interesting piece of history, the Lystad’s two-bedroom loft was once used as a storage freezer for the warehouse. “I’m glad they are preserving all of those details that really make it a showpiece. It’s good to know that someone’s taking care of it the way it should be,” says Lystad.
Kitchen
Industrial lighting, durable Corian countertops and Cherrywood cabinetry give the historic space a modern appeal. Keeping style at the forefront, each loft’s kitchen is uniquely designed for the varying layouts.
Lystad’s Design
In this loft, Lystad has already started incorporating reclaimed wood pieces from family friend Grant Koenig of Grain Designs, as well as decor elements from her store. “Most everything in here is from designingwomen2, except for the pieces from Grain Designs,” says Lystad.
"The original brick walls were actually hand-chipped. It took about a month and a half to do the entire building." - Kody Christenson, Project Manager of Wenck Construction.
Bedrooms
Beyond the industrial elements and exposed brick, wide walkways, large rooms and spacious closets are just a few of the modern amenities in Lystad’s two bedrooms. In the guest bedroom, Lystad has a hide-a-bed for transitions from den to guest room.
Bathrooms
There are two full bathrooms in Lystad’s two-bedroom unit, each with a custom tile shower, Cherry cabinetry and quartz countertops.
Laundry Room
Lystad’s loft has a spacious laundry room near the entrance, along with all other loft units in the building.
"We really put a lot of high quality finishes into the spaces. We wanted it to be different than just a cookie-cutter apartment." -Jessica Alsop
To complete the upscale, modern lofts, Alsop and Williams included three floors of commercial and retail space in the west building, totaling more than 24,000 square feet of available space.
Venture to the third floor near the lofts and this is the view into their wide-open commercial space. Impossibly high ceilings, endless windows, an upper mezzanine and rustic beams are the features that originally drew owners Alsop and Williams to the property. “Most of the potential commercial tenants have wanted to keep this space’s open concept with the exception of a conference room. We really didn’t want to break up this space with lofts because we would lose so much great natural light,” says Alsop.
Parking
Usually a downfall of downtown living, Alsop was excited to point out that there are 21 underground parking spaces and 96 outdoor parking spaces in a dedicated parking lot for the building.
Preservation Challenges
Alsop and Williams starting working with MBA before the purchase. Wanting to make sure it would be a sustainable project, they did structural analysis to test out the building as it sat vacant for so long. There weren’t any major structural issues, so, feeling confident, Alsop and Williams moved the project forward.
“We wanted to have more of an industrial feel for the lofts and this side had a lot more of those features to it,” Alsop explains. “We decided to use the creamery side for retail and commercial space because of the architectural elements like the wood beams and high ceilings. If we had chopped up that space into lofts we would have lost a lot of the original architectural elements.”
Preserving the warehouse didn’t come without its challenges. MBA Architects were instrumental in getting them through the two-year-long government review process that allowed them to preserve the historic landmark. Alsop and Williams would not be able to alter the exterior footprint of the building. So, with help from their architect Greg Oakland of MBA, they instead cleverly repurposed existing areas such as the loading docks, turning them into patio and outdoor spaces.
For more info on loft tours and leasing:
1026npavenue@gmail.com
www.TheHistoricUnion.com
For more info on The Historic Union commercial/retail space:
Property Resources Group
701-356-8888
www.propertyresourcesgroup.com
To find out more about the preservation of the Historic Union contact:
Kody Christenson – General Contractor & Project Manager, Wenck Construction
3303 Fiechtner Drive, Suite 100, Fargo
701-297-9600
Greg Oakland – Architect, Mutchler Bartram Architects
505 Broadway N # 201, Fargo
701-235-5563
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