A new look for an old building

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - When the Neighborhood Action Committee first looked at building at 427 North 5th Street in downtown Lafayette in January 2009, some thought it should have been leveled.

"There were people here that were homeless. Plaster was falling off the walls," said committee member Brian Bugajski. "The floors were in really bad shape. It was really in danger of being demolished."

But what looks like trash to some can be treasure to others. Instead of taking it down, the committee decided to fix what was there. They determined that this would be cheaper than tearing it down and building something else.

Their decision left them - and local contractor Jeff Rider - with a tall task: to make the old building look new while still keeping its historic feel.

Rider said the the old building had some pleasant surprises.

"Once we got a little look at this brick, we realized how beautiful it was, and we just really wanted to showcase the brick," said Rider.

That was just the beginning. New floors and wiring followed. All the changes focused on keeping the historic feel and helping tenants feel at home.

"We really put emphasis into bringing them up to today's standards in terms of energy efficiency," said Rider. "We put a lot of insulation in, really good Marvin windows, high-efficiency heat pumps. So we feel they will perform very well and our tenants will be happy to live here."

Rider said he is glad he was brought in on the project. He said he would like to do a similar one every year.

The money used to fund the project came from a Community Development Block Grant.