In Rotation 16 | Art of the State 17 | Foodfinds 18 | Fi¬m 20 PHOTO/ALLISON YOUNG
the cts are in e it h c r a uildings o local g dy ing b These tw in iv v e r of business DAV IS BY LAURA
Driving past the former laundry on Wells Ave., built in 1950 and standing vacant since 2006, may have brought many words to mind—decrepit, abandoned, eyesore—all likely terms found in the word bank. But artistic, modern, livable? Probably not. Unless, of course, you were delving into the creative brain waves of local developers Pamela Haberman and Kelly Rae, of HabeRae Properties. The malnourished property, once known as Deluxe Laundry, was in need of a hefty diet of love, time and investment capital—none of which it seemed likely to be fed anytime soon. Lucky for both it and the neighborhood, HabeRae saw through the desolate to the potential. As a stray dog chooses its new owner, the laundry got under the skin of the ambitious couple and ate away for five whole years, before the dream of it becoming their newest housing renovation could become a reality.
For more information, visit haberae.com.
14
|
RN&R
“It spoke to us,” Rae says, perched upon a bright orange sofa situated inside one of 10 newly remodeled artist lofts of which the building is now comprised. “I called every 90 days, over the past five years.” She slowly convinced the former property owner to sign over the building. “It kept getting vandalized and was never able to reopen,” Rae says. “Just more graffiti and more broken windows.” But where many would shy away from the seemingly hopeless structure, HabeRae saw fulfillment in the challenge. They used their business philosophy, that if you take an old building and spoon-feed it some life and light, the vandals will move along to the next victim. “It’s seeing a building deteriorate that drives us,” Haberman says, while stressing their commitment to the community in which they grew up. “These old buildings that are just rotting away, they have to be
resurrected and kept. Otherwise, it’s like not having your senior citizens around.” The remodeled laundry, which had its grand opening the beginning of the month, now bears the name Dozen @ the DeLuxe, and is one of more than 100 properties HabeRae has worked its recycled craft on. With its original brick walls cleaned (a process which took 10 days in the building’s attached art gallery alone), a 24-feet domed roof, exposed wood plank ceilings, and polished cement floors, its two-story lofts can now be called home by the residents quick enough to snatch them up. HabeRae has developed a reputation among its average tenant demographic, that being the young artist professionals seeking a unique living space. For them, the HabeRae formula is just what the doctor ordered.
BIG HE ADERS GIZA 25pt 25k SMALL HEADERS GIZA 15pt 55k (60% OF BIG HE AD)
|
NOVEMBER 15, 2012
Kelly Rae and Pamela Haberman stand in front of Dozen @ the DeLuxe.
