“The address 1308 N. Elston Avenue may not be familiar to most Chicagoans, but many people can picture the 100-year-old industrial structure standing between the Kennedy Expressway and the Morton Salt shed with its large south-facing billboard.
“It’s one of those buildings that we’ve all passed our entire lives,” says Regina Stilp of Farpoint Development, the Chicago-based firm that recently finished transforming the former light fixture factory into five stories of trendy loft offices.
“The company essentially ‘decorated with demo,’ reducing the old building down to its most basic—and attractive—elements: rustic brick walls, high beamed ceilings, and oversized windows.
“With an adaptive reuse project we always try to find the one key thing that sets a building apart,” explains Stilp. In the case of 1308 N. Elston this feature was the rear loading dock that Farpoint turned into a walled courtyard with new landscaping. The space serves as a building amenity and is a key part of its “unique entry sequence.” (Koziarz, Curbed Chicago)
Read the full article at Curbed Chicago