Loft Living

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Who wants to live in one, big room? You might be surprised. The market for loft apartments has stayed steady and strong, even during the real estate downturn. A model loft unit from Oxnard Art Lofts in Oxnard, Calif. Photo courtesy of Oxnard Art Lofts. Photo by Dave O. White, Jr. And while they’ve traditionally been located in major cities such as New York; Chicago; Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, they’re also showing up in markets outside the nation’s urban cores. One of the newest rental options in York, Pa., a city 40 miles outside of Baltimore, is Codo, a1910 building that has been a grocery warehouse, a roller rink and an auto parts warehouse over the years and now has two new, decidedly contemporary buildings thanks to developers.  “The project just works,” says Bill Swartz, co-developer of Codo, which rented 23 of its 35 apartments in four weeks. “It’s a metaphor of what’s happening in York. There are new people coming here and new developers, taking this old town and making it relevant to a whole new generation.” A Creative History Loft apartments made their debut in the 1800s in Paris where they were occupied by artists who saw the potential of old warehouses and other commercial buildings as places where they could live and work cheaply. The large, open spaces and high ceilings made it easy to set up a studio, the large windows let in an abundance of light and there were no neighbors to bother as they worked through the night. The view from David Kean’s loft in downtown Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of David Kean. The U.S. “loft movement”—identified as such by its proponents—grew out of SoHo in New York, says John McIlwain, senior fellow for housing at the Urban Land Institute. Today, they’re an integral part of a renewed interest in urban living that’s been underway for several years, according to study released in January by the Environmental Protection Agency. “It’s a great way to reuse old buildings,” McIlwain says. Changing Definitions While a true loft is a warehouse or other commercial building that has been  converted to residential space, today’s loft options include new construction featuring the elements that define loft spaces, such as high ceilings, exposed

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