October 4, 2006

Wallingford lofts mix housing and retail

Photo courtesy of Weber + Thompson

Bagley Lofts combines street-level lofts on the Bagley Avenue North side and commercial space on the busy North 45th Street side.

Bagley Lofts, a mixed-use residential project in Wallingford, was designed by Weber + Thompson and is one of the neighborhood's first loft projects.

Bagley Lofts has tall, light-filled homes with large warehouse-style windows. Buyers purchased all but two of the 43 units before construction was completed last summer.

The lofts are designed to appeal to single, urban professionals, young couples and students.

“It's unusual for a mixed-use development in a commercial zone to have residential units on the ground floor, especially a loft project,” said Weber + Thompson Principal Kristen Scott. “More often, the entire first floor would be retail. The result of this project is a different concept in loft design that is distinctively scaled for Wallingford.”

Bagley Lofts is at the corner of North 45th Street, which is a busy commercial corridor, and Bagley Avenue North, a quieter street with single-family homes. There is a commercial façade of brick on 45th Street. Along Bagley, there are traditional residential stoops and yards.

The stoops and yards create places for neighbors to interact, according to project manager Mindy Black of Weber + Thompson.

Homes on the east side of Bagley Lofts also have stoops to enliven the alley. Wrought-iron screens are buffers between the residential units and the neighboring retail space, which has been leased to a wine and dessert bar.

“We could have designed regular condominium units and fit an additional level of homes into the project, but the client was very enthusiastic about creating the loft spaces,” said Black. “A lot of their ideas helped jump start the design process and resulted in some inventive ways to use the space.”

The developer was Bagley Lofts, LLC.

The lofts have three mini-levels to create flexible spaces. In addition to warehouse-style windows, units have an outdoor space for residents, ground floor homes have the stoops, upper residences have balconies and the penthouses have rooftop decks.

Homes range from 740 to 1,400 square feet and prices range from $312,990 to $995,000. Williams Marketing is the listing agency.

The general contractor was Bagley Lofts, the structural engineer was DCI Engineers and the landscape architect was Integrated Site Design.