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anatomy of a rehab
[The Greystone Court
Apartments]
The Greystone
is a significant piece of Columbus history that reflects
the innovation of even the earliest architects.
Anyone who has walked the Short
North District is well-aware of the Greystone Court Apartments
on 815 N. High St. Beyond the exquisite façade, this building
has quite a history, one that earned it a place in text books.
[the Greystone gets pushed around…] Construction on the Greystone began
in 1905. Operations were put on hold when the original developer
fell ill and died. The property got tied up in his estate and
remained an unfinished shell of poured concrete and reinforced
steel for many years until a second developer from Virginia came
in to finish the project. In the 1920s, the city of Columbus
teamed with The Ohio State University to widen High Street since
it was the main corridor connecting downtown with the campus. Between 1922 and 1923, when High Street was being widened, the Greystone had to
move to accommodate the new space. No small feat, a 12-foot section of the
Greystone had to be detached from the front façade and reattached to the back of
the building.
[rehabilitating a bit of history…] In 1984, when High Street was enjoying a move toward revitalization
after experiencing several years of neglect, Managing Partners, Nick Montell and
Robert Schilling bought the Greystone Court Apartments and started rehabbing it
in 1986. Nick Montell had already been in the business of development for 10 years when
he decided to get involved with the Greystone project. “I opened my own business
doing rehab work, like commercial construction, and then we got involved with
this property and the opportunity to be part of a new revitalization in the area
seemed like a great opportunity,” he says. “It was an affordable acquisition at
the time and a challenge to rehab it. So we did a historical renovation to the
building.” Because the Greystone is considered an historical landmark, the
builders had to submit an application to the US Parks Department. And they
worked closely with the Ohio Historical Society (OHS) to iron out the details.
“We felt we were justified in wanting to replace all the windows, the OHS said
75% of the windows had to be in a state of disrepair to do this,” Montell says.
“We just missed that so we had to go in and rebuild the old windows.”
[preservation with a little touch of
progress…] “We tried to keep everything of its
original nature down to the hardware, so we took a lot of time
rebuilding, repairing and replacing the hardware,” Montell says.
“We refinished the hardwood floors. We did update the kitchens
with new cabinets, countertops and appliances. In the bathrooms
we put in all new plumbing, but kept the original tub. It
basically is still today what it was when it was first
constructed.”
[a textbook case of renovation…] Because the Greystone has been
through so many fascinating, innovative changes, including the
amazing accomplishment of seamlessly moving part of the front of
the building to the rear of the building, The School of
Engineering and Architecture at The Ohio State University
studied the building in 1986 as it was undergoing its rehab. “It
was in some of their textbooks,” Montell says. “During the
rehab, classes would come down and tour the area. They found it
quite interesting to actually see something they were studying
and reading about.”
[clever architectural elements…] The Greystone made its way on to
the National Register of Historic Places. “And the primary
reason it got on the register is that all the kitchens had
built-in refrigerators when everyone else was having large
blocks of ice brought to their doors at that time,” Montell
says. “They weren’t very large, probably 20-inches deep,
probably 15-inches wide and 18- or 19-inches in height, but it
was enough to keep the milk and butter, cheese and eggs cool.” Montell says unfortunately, the
architect remains a mystery, but he was extremely innovative for
the time period. In addition to the built-in refrigerators, he
made the five-story walk up an easy one by building shallow
steps and a mid-landing on each floor. He installed mailboxes on
the inside of the building, away from the public eye. Montell says another feature
already in place was an intercom system. “We were able to use
the conduit to take our new electronic intercom system up to
each individual unit. We added the secure feature with
electronic door release."
[a really cool design…] Because many of these building
obviously didn’t have air conditioning at the turn of the
century, the Greystone was built to stay cool in the summer,
making it an energy efficient place to live today. There are
windows built on both sides of the units, creating a cross
breeze. Transoms above the interior doors let the air flow
through each apartment quite nicely. Air conditioning was installed
during the 80s rehab, however, Montell says they took advantage
of the air flow and installed ceiling fans. “The building
maintains a 10 to 15 degree temperature difference between the
outside and the inside during the summer months,” he says.
“Although we have 64 apartments, I don’t think we have had more
than 19 air conditioning units going at one time, so that speaks
well to the original construction.”
[the historic Greystone in the 21st
century…] In 1986, the Greystone was just
north of all the new growth going on downtown. “We were at the
northern end and a lot of it hadn’t gotten to us yet,” Montell
says. “The area was very transitional. By the time we were
finished in 1987, I would say 1989-1990, is when you saw a
tremendous change in the community.” Montell says the Greystone has
always attracted the young professional and the
middle-management type. “We have some graduate students; it’s
primarily been 21 and over. The average age here now is probably
about 30.” There are currently 64 apartments,
6 different floor plans and three different sized apartments
from one bedroom and studio to multi-bedroom. With attractive hardwood floors,
original hexagon ceramic tiles in the kitchen and 9-foot
ceilings, Montell says these apartments accommodate just about
any style. “When we first did the renovation we had a good cross
section of people, some who would do the Art Deco sort of décor
and others who had the heirloom furniture, some where they
combine the two,” he says. “One lady, about 60-years-old, was
here for 14 years and her apartment was unbelievable, everything
in it- her mother’s furniture, her grandmother’s furniture-was
immaculate and just exquisite. Then there was a guy who ran the
Southern Hotel and he did everything in Art Deco. Both styles
worked well.” In addition to the 64 units, there
is 8,800 square feet of commercial businesses in the building.
“Trane heating and cooling has a regional office here, there is
an artist, she restores old furniture and has a shop here, there
is a barber salon and an art gallery along with several
counselors and a couple of massage therapists,” Montell says. The Greystone is representative of
this city’s urban setting in which the historic blends
effortlessly with, and adjusts well to the more modern, budding
commercial and residential areas.
New York may
have its Brownstones, but Columbus has the one-of-a-kind
Greystone.
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