Commercial Project (private, for-profit)
HOTEL TRUNDLE/BOUDREAUX OFFICES AT THE HISTORIC POWELL FURNITURE BUILDING
COLUMBIA, SC
GBX Group LLC, a firm specializing in
acquiring and preserving historic real
estate in urban markets, and the architectural firm BOUDREAUX partnered with
investors on a renovation and investment
opportunity in Columbia, SC. The proposed plan to create a space for
BOUDREAUX’s new offices and a boutique hotel, Hotel Trundle, centered
around the Powell Furniture Building in
the Columbia Commercial Historic
District.
Through trusted business relationships and deals, the plan posed to
expand the city’s historic district by combining three dilapidated, vacant buildings; two of which were initially located
in a different district. The lengthy process to combine the properties and
receive historical approval for the additional Western Auto and Rose-Talbery
Paints buildings as tax credit eligible
spaces, allowed GBX Group LLC and
BOUDREAUX to team up with husband
and wife team, Marcus Munse and Rita
Patel as investment partners to create a
bold vision.
The buildings, constructed in the early
1900s, span across 35,000 square feet and
are located one block from Main Street.
GBX Group LLC worked to preserve the
property, utilizing archival photos of
each building’s façade to restore the
structures back to their original terra
cotta, wood and metal storefronts, with
prism glass, plaster and metal panels.
Design decisions and preservation efforts
went into each corner of every room to
retain the character and define building
elements. In doing so, the buildings were
allowed to join the city’s historic district,
resulting in benefits from National and
State Historic Tax Incentives.
As a historical landmark, the project
presented a variety of interior challenges.
The design team worked in unison with
the project’s contractor to ensure a cohe-
sive design against different floor heights,
outdated electrical systems, improper
piping and limited space for common
elements. The team worked closely with
the State Historic Preservation office to
meet occupancy requirements as they
successfully designed a strategic layout
that combined all three buildings with a
designated, communal entryway contrary
to the buildings’ conflicting original
design. The firm also strived to overcome
tax credit application hurdles. Originally
denied by the National Park Service, due
to initial designs jeopardizing the his-
toric integrity, the team was able to pro-
pose adaptations to resolve the issue and
obtain approval by altering hotel rooms,
extending historic ceilings and minimiz-
ing costs, all while working against a
deadline.
The tenant search and design process
for the project began in 2016, with full
construction underway in early 2017.
BOUDREAUX moved into its new office
space by July of 2017 while Hotel Trundle
held its grand opening in April of 2018.
PIAZZA POD PARK
PHILADELPHIA
Originally sited as a vacant parking lot in
an industrial area devoid of steady foot
traffic, the development of Pizza Pod Park
has transformed Philadelphia’s Northern
Liberties neighborhood into a widely-desirable, residential area. Upon identifying the need for a community epicenter
and recognizing the underutilized space
of The Piazza, the Post Brothers acquired
the property from Kushner Companies in
2018 and began construction that same
year. The development project spans
