Article by Ennis Davis, AICP

Key

Page 1

American Tobacco Campus, Durham, NC
Crosstown Concourse, Memphis, TN
Hecht Warehouse at Ivy City, Washington, DC
Midtown Exchange, Minneapolis, MN

Page 2

Montgomery Plaza, Fort Worth, TX
Otto Milk Loft Condominiums, Pittsburgh, PA
Pearl District, San Antonio, TX
Ponce City Market, Atlanta, GA

Page 3

Pratt Street Power Plant, Baltimore, MD
Optimist Hall, Charlotte, NC
Quaker Square, Akron, OH
Union Terminal Warehouse Company, Jacksonville, FL

American Tobacco Campus

300 Blackwell Street #104, Durham, NC

(American Tobacco Campus)

Designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, the American Tobacco Historic District is what remains of American Tobacco Company’s downtown cigarette factory. The American Tobacco Company was founded by J.B. Duke in 1890 and became one of the original 12 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896. The company quickly became so dominate, that Antitrust action in 1907 eventually broke the business into several major companies in 1911. American Tobacco Company restructured itself in 1969, forming a holding company called American Brands, Inc. At its height, the company was the largest cigarette manufacturer in the United States.

In 1986, American Brands shut down their aging Downtown Durham cigarette factory. After selling all tobacco holdings in 1994, American Brands renamed itself Fortune Brands. Acquired in 2001, Capitol Broadcasting redeveloped ATC’s abandoned one-million square foot cigarette plant into a complex of offices, shops and restaurants. With 17 contributing built between 1874 and the 1950s. Today, this historic district is one of the region’s most popular entertainment districts, while also preserving the physical legacy of one of America’s great entrepreneurial success stories.

(American Tobacco Campus)

Crosstown Concourse

1350 Concourse Avenue, Memphis, TN

(Crosstown Concourse Facebook Page)

In 1927, the Sears, Roebuck & Company opened this distribution center and retail store on a 12-acre site on the outskirts of Memphis. On opening day, 35,000 people flooded the main entrance. Once the city’s top employer, the 1.5 million square foot operation closed its doors for good in 1993 as a casualty of changing consumer habits and the decline of the retail chain.

Abandoned for two decades, the former retail distribution hub became the largest adaptive reuse initiative in Tennessee and the largest LEED Platinum Certified historic adaptive reuse project in the world in 2017. Reopening as the Crosstown Concourse in 2017, the $210 million complex includes 630,000 square feet of commercial space, 265 apartments and 65,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space and tenants such as the Memphis Teacher Residency, Church Health and Crosstown High School.

(Crosstown Concourse Facebook Page)

Hecht Warehouse at Ivy City

1401 New York Avenue, Washington, DC

In 1937, the Hecht Company Department Stores constructed a central warehouse for the chain in Washington, DC’s Ivy City neighborhood. Featuring a Streamline Modern architectural style, the six-story industrial building with glass block windows quickly became an iconic structure for Ivy City. Established in 1857, the Hecht chain survived for 163 years before being phased out in favor of the nationally known Macy’s brand on September 9, 2006.

In 2011, the vacant 463,648 square foot industrial complex was acquired by Douglas Development and redeveloped into a mixed-use community that was completed in 2016. Today, the popular adaptive reuse destination is made up of 125,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 335 modern residential units and a 1,250 space parking garage.

(Douglas Development)

Midtown Exchange

2929 Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis, MN

(Ryan Companies)

The Sears, Roebuck and Company was founded in 1892 in Chicago by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck. Initially a mail ordering catalog business, the company started opening retail locations in 1925. In 1928, Sears opened this building as a retail store and mail-order catalog warehouse. At the time, it was the largest building in Minnesota. Closing in 1994, the site remained vacant until its 2005 transformation.

Acquired by the City of Minneapolis in 2001, exclusive rights were provided to Ryan Companies to redevelop the industrial site. Completed in 2005, the mixed-use structure includes 300 residential units, corporate office space, a market featuring small independently owned restaurants and specialty retailers, and a Sheraton Hotel.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Sears, Roebuck and Company Mail-Order Warehouse and Retail Store, Midtown Exchange is also had direct access to the Midtown Greenway trail system.

(Meet Minneapolis)

(Sherman Associates)