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Converted factory homes
By Colleen Kane of CNBC
When factories are no longer factories, these sturdy structures of antique bricks and beams can be converted for many new uses. With regularity, they are turned into hotels, office space, shopping centers, restaurants, clubs, cultural and performance centers and other innovative uses.
One of the most common reuses for old factory buildings is private residences, either single-family homes or multiple-family loft complexes. Many benefits make this use so appealing: Factories have space and light galore, and they feature exposed brick and wood or steel-beam charm while adapting well to modern décor. As generations of creative people can attest, revamped industrial spaces also work great as combined work and studio space. And, finally, the sheer amount of space, when purchased in need of overhaul, can be a bargain for the enterprising buyer.
The following factories where products such as candy, garments, soap and mayonnaise were made are now places where lives are lived. While this trend has long been associated with New York, these stunning examples are from around the globe.
NOTE: Properties were on the market and listed as available at the time of publication in October 2012, unless noted.
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Converted factory homes
Golden Crust Bakery
Location: Armadale, Victoria, Australia
Size: Approximately 8,611 square feet
This home in Armadale, a Melbourne suburb, was created by refurbishing the former Golden Crust Bakery and joining it to a refurbished warehouse. A new bridge connects the two brick structures, for a combined space that is nearly a mansion in size. The project was carried out from 2006 to 2009 by the architecture firm Jackson Clements Burrows. Australian Design Review reports that before this dramatic renovation, the structures were in a state of "serious deterioration and under a threat of demolition."
- Bing: Melbourne travel guide
Slide show: How to shush an open floor plan
- On our blog, 'Listed': Salvaged Seattle penthouse
Converted factory homes
Factory of Living
Location: Utrecht, Netherlands
Size: 2,690 square feet
This former factory in Utrecht was reconfigured for residential loft living and office space while retaining key original aspects such as the wood beams and multipane windows. From the outside, it's practically unchanged, while inside it's a spacious living space rich in natural light. This project was completed in 2006 by the Dutch architecture firm Zecc, whose work converting a water tower and a church into homes was previously featured in Unique Converted Homes.
- Bing: Utrecht travel guide
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- On our blog, 'Listed': Bank works with cities to combat foreclosure blight
Converted factory homes
Tobin Building
Location: San Antonio
Price: $650,000 / $399,900
Size: 1,000 to 4,800 square feet per loft
From 1926 to 1937, this building was the Duerler Candy Factory, and from 1937 to 2000 it was owned by Tobin Surveys, a company that surveyed for the oil and gas industry. After that, under new ownership by artist and philanthropist Linda Pace, Poteet Architects transformed it into the Campstreet Residences. It is divided into 20 lofts on the first four floors; its fifth floor is for Pace's residence and the sixth is gallery space.
Two of the units are for sale: A 2,300-square-foot loft is priced at $650,000, and a 1,700-square-foot loft is priced at $399,900. One more claim to fame in this building's pedigree: Dixie Chick Emily Robison once lived here.
Find San Antonio homes for sale on Realtor.com.
- Video: How to decorate an open loft
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- Bing: Penthouses for sale
Converted factory homes
Remington Factory
Location: New York
Price: $5.3 million for a loft
Size: 5,500 square feet
This full-floor loft occupies the third level of the former Remington factory, which dates to 1890. This spacious living and working space features one 500-square-foot bedroom, two and a half baths, two 600-square-foot artist studios and two home offices, each 200 square feet.
Find New York homes for sale on Realtor.com.
- Video: How to decorate an open loft
- On our blog, 'Listed': Popularity of big-city downtowns on the rise
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Converted factory homes
Atlantic Terra Cotta Factory
Location: Princeton, N.J.
Size of building: 20,000 square feet
This circa-1894 terra cotta factory on the Delaware and Raritan Canal once created ornamentation for New York landmarks such as the Woolworth Building. The architectural firm Smith Miller and Hawkinson gave it a face lift, and the old factory is now a residence and design studio. The designers incorporated a timber mezzanine for another floor of usable space and used polycarbonate screens as dividers between work and living spaces.
Find Princeton homes for sale on Realtor.com.
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Converted factory homes
Blue Plate Factory
Location: New Orleans
Price: $502 to $1,550 a month for one- or two-bedroom lofts
Size: 615 to 1,647 square feet per loft
This landmark Art Moderne building was the former factory of Blue Plate Fine Foods, whose mayonnaise and other condiments were made from 1941 until the turn of the century when production moved to Tennessee. Beginning in 2009, the space underwent a $23 million renovation by Woodward Design Build, and it is now Blue Plate Artist Lofts, with 72 "mixed-income loft-style apartments designed with a leasing preference for artists."
Find New Orleans homes for sale on Realtor.com.
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Converted factory homes
Garment Factory
Location: New York
Price: $3 million for a loft
Size: Not available
This triplex penthouse is in a 1928 garment factory. Its present three-bedroom, four-bath incarnation was conceived by architect Steve Blatz. The master bedroom features a wood-burning fireplace and a wrap-around planting terrace; a second bedroom also has a terrace. The kitchen features Miele and Thermadore appliances and two Gaggenau ovens.
Find New York homes for sale on Realtor.com.
- Video: How to decorate an open loft
- On our blog, 'Listed': Popularity of big-city downtowns on the rise
- Bing: Penthouses for sale
Converted factory homes
Savonnerie Heymans
Location: Brussels
Size: Entire complex is approximately 70,000 square feet
Savonnerie Heymans is a sustainably built social housing project incorporating a former soap factory and new buildings. The complex, completed in 2011 by MDW Architecture, contains 42 energy-efficient accommodations using materials such as hemp fibers and cork and features including solar-power-heated water and rainwater collection for the toilets. The factory's chimney was repurposed as part of the ventilation system for the underground parking garage.
- Video: DIY lighting in a loft space
- On our blog, 'Listed': Bank works with cities to combat foreclosure blight
- MSN Living: Inside a DIY North Carolina home
Converted factory homes
Dumbo Factory
Location: Brooklyn
Price: $1,947,500 for a loft
Size: 3,441 square feet
The waterfront neighborhood Dumbo, which stands for "down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass," was once an important manufacturing center, with warehouses and factories that made machinery, boxes, shoes, soap, paint and steel-wool pads.
Most of those warehouses and factories are now pricey loft buildings with views of lower Manhattan, and this 1915 factory is no exception. It was converted in 2005 into 259 residential units. The two-bedroom, three-bath space pictured here, which is on the market, has modern features only dreamed of when it was a factory, such as central heat and air conditioning, bamboo flooring, open kitchen, marble bath and access to a gym.
Find New York homes for sale on Realtor.com.
- On our blog, 'Listed': Salvaged Seattle penthouse
Converted factory homes
Candy factory
Location: Boston
Price: $1.2 million (no longer for sale)
Size: 1,800 square feet
This is a three-bedroom, three-bath condo on three levels of a former candy factory dating to 1898. Two of the bedrooms are masters with their own marble and tile baths. The loft also has a terrace and soaring ceilings, and like so many other converted factory homes, this one has plenty of natural light through the tall, multipane windows.
Find Boston homes for sale on Realtor.com.
- Video: How to decorate an open loft
- On our blog, 'Listed': Popularity of big-city downtowns on the rise
- Bing: Penthouses for sale
