Architect transforming old mule barn into multi-use building

In 1919, Prohibition went into effect. Women were granted the right to vote. Here in Columbia, Broadway bustled with a few Ford Model-T cars and plenty of mule-drawn carriages.

That same year, brothers Bill and Pleas Wright built a mule barn on the corner of Hinkson and Fay streets, an area where small industries, livestock pens and workers’ houses clustered around the railroad tracks.

The building, which later housed the Diggs meat-packing warehouse, encompasses almost an entire block and is now undergoing a major renovation.

Architect Brian Pape is turning the space, which he bought in 2006, into a multi-use building. It will eventually house apartments, offices and spaces for local artists.

He is working closely with The Warehouse Studios, Inc., a non-profit arts organization that focuses on providing artists and musicians with affordable studio space.

“The part about this project that excites me the most is having a community of creative individuals under one roof,” said Stephanie Lyons, executive director of The Warehouse Studios. “I love the idea of artists, musicians, graphic designers, lawyers, consultants and retail shop owners all working in the historic Wright Brothers building. We all need a space to work and an environment that caters to creativity.”

The project is estimated to cost $2.5 million. The first floor of the building has 22,500 square feet of space, and the second floor has 10,000 square feet. Pape plans to have the apartments ready to rent by September.

“These will be places where you could live and work,” Pape said. “They were designed to have an entrance facing the street for easy access so that residents could showcase and sell their work.”

He will also soon have eight to 10 offices available to the public and said there is still time to change the spaces to suit the needs of the occupants.

The center of the building features a skylight that previously had been blocked. Pape’s design opens the skylight so it will once again bathe the interior with natural sunshine.

The building retains many of its original features, such as double-hung windows and steel trusses. Pape’s design has added features to the building, such as a ramp and second-floor balconies.

“I have tried to take what was already here and enhance it,” he said.

To meet U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations for meat packers, posts are wrapped in stainless steel, and walls are covered with tiles in some rooms. Pape is transforming one of these spaces into a pottery studio.

Though this building as been a challenge to renovate, Pape said, “I enjoy saving old buildings and finding ways to solve problems.”