HISTORIC RENOVATIONS
MCRE is known as one of the most acclaimed historic renovation specialists in the Intermountain West, having completed dozens of historic projects worth over $125M in recent years. Our team loves the challenge of finding creative solutions and successfully preserving historic character in legacy properties, many of which have been left for abandon.
FELT
The Felt Building was one of the very first office properties in Salt Lake City to be remodeled with the open, tech-oriented design. MCRE adopted the high-design, open floor concepts created by the tech companies in Silicon Valley, bringing that to downtown Main Street in Salt Lake. When acquired, the Felt Building had held steady at under 60% occupancy for the prior decade.
Upon extensive renovations by MCRE, the building increased lease rates by 87.3% and hit full occupancy within the first year. The new design concept was a hit for the market, spurring similar renovations throughout the city. The Felt building was eventually sold in conjunction with the Clift building in a blockbuster portfolio sale to Fortress Investment Group out of New York, achieving the highest psf historic building sale in the state’s history.
CLIFT
The Clift Building was the largest historic renovation project in Utah at the time. The 9-story office property was gutted to the concrete pillars from roof to basement and renovated to the highest interior design standard that had been seen up to that point in this market.
Highlighting the difficulties of renovating historic properties, during construction we found three sets of stairs, one bathroom, and one furnished office that had been hidden behind walls, unseen for decades. The property achieved lease rates above any other property in the state and sold over 35% higher PSF than any other historic building in the state of Utah history.
JUDE
MCRE purchased this unique historic apartment project located in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City as a gutted, run-down building. The team saw a vision to bring to the market the unique quality found in historic San Francisco, NYC, or Boston brownstones. The property was renovated with hand-laid chevron hardwood flooring, leather wainscotting wall covering, and intricate handmade tile work. It was designed to be the most premier renovated historic apartment building in the state.
AMANDA KNIGHT HALL
Constructed in the 1930’s, Amanda Knight Hall is a beloved historic structure in Provo, Utah. MCRE was contacted by officials in the history community requesting that we step in and help save the building from demolition. The property was purchased from Brigham Young University and a massive renovation commenced to fully update and reposition the property.
Originally built as student dorms, MCRE repositioned the property into a 58 bed girls student housing apartment project. Incredible lengths were taken to preserve the original history in the building, which was originally built to bring Ivy League architecture and credibility to the college. MCRE built on that original intent, renovating the property to an Ivy League standard not currently found anywhere in the Intermountain West, including a $30k Steinway piano in the massive Great Hall of the property.