ISSUE 3: 2017
now+next YARN WORKS Yarn Works Apartments, a $24.2 million adaptivereuse project in Fitchburg, Mass., transformed a former yarn mill into 96 units of mixed-income housing. The original Nockege River Mill Building, designed by noted industrial architect Frank Sheldon, was constructed on Fitchburg’s Nashua River at the start of the 20th century. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016, the 186,000-squarefoot mill was successfully reimagined into a multifamily community by repurposing many of the building’s original features including 15-foot ceilings, more than 280 8-by-10 foot windows, and exposed original brick and steel beams. Structural renovations included removing and rebuilding the first floor, adding a concrete slab that raises the building above the 100year floodplain, repairing the exterior envelope, and replacing all windows and frames with historically matched replicas. With its transit-oriented, downtown location and deeply rooted past, the conversion plays an important role in Fitchburg’s revitalization.