The Hardware Store

In 2007, Octagon Partners renovated the 23,000 square foot Hardware Store building, originally built in 1895 on Charlottesville’s historic Downtown Mall. OCP’s project, which called for a complete historic restoration, utilized both Virginia and Federal historic tax credits. The building now houses national retail tenant Urban Outfitters and science-oriented data marketing firm Silverchair.

As part of Octagon’s renovation, the upper floors were structurally reinforced and additional stairs and elevators were added, resulting in a nearly doubling of the building’s usable square footage. Originally, the Hardware Store had a central skylight that was fixed above glass floors that allowed light to penetrate from the top floor into the lower floors. Unfortunately, previous owners had removed the skylight, so during our renovation, Octagon Partners added five large skylight monitors back onto the roof., once again flooding the upper floor with light and allowing natural light to pass through the glass floor into lower parts of the building. We added high-efficiency heating, cooling, and lighting, state-of-the-art access-management components, a new sprinkler and life safety system, and sound dampening systems.

Though the building had been extensively remodeled in the 1970s, some of the historic elements remained and were preserved and reused in the latest renovation. These elements include wooden paneling and wall partitions, glass block floors, two original safes, doors and transoms, elevator doors, large structural timbers, floor boards, and exposed ceilings and brick. Wood flooring and beams removed to make way for additional stairs and elevators were salvaged, refinished and reused.

Project Timeline:

• Closed on building in January 2007
• Design and pre-construction from January 2007 to June 2007
• Demolition and core construction from June 2007 to June 2008
• Office tenant improvement and build-out from July 2008 to January 2009
• Urban Outfitters tenant improvement and build-out from January 2009 to May 2009 (building fully occupied)