Built in 1894, The Coronado is one of the oldest and most recognizable apartment buildings in midtown. Throughout last year, the building displayed the telltale signs of renovation activity—occasional contractor vans parked haphazardly around the property, roll-off dumpsters nearby—you know the drill.
But the project never seemed to get more than a passing mention in the press, and work quietly finished up a few months ago much fanfare. After stumbling across some interior photos earlier this week, we got in touch with the ownership, the Cass Corridor Neighborhood Development Corporation (CCNDC), looking for details. Turns out, the Coronado project was a whopping $3.3M remod.
Looks good, right? That interior is mostly brand-new. Once known for its ornate woodwork and detailing, the original interior was almost completely gutted. According to Patrick Dorn, executive director of the CCNDC, that old interior had been damaged beyond saving.
"It had lived a long life," said Dorn. "There was way too much lead. Even the baseboards were pretty chewed up."
To retain the Coranado's historic charm, the CCNDC adopted a design philosophy of "salvage, replicate and replace." The old wood floors, fireplaces, and the building's three stairways were all salvaged, but most of the molding is new. Designers made sure to replace the most important features, like the crown molding around the windows and the foot-tall baseboards. Outside, the Coronado's brick/sandstone facade was strengthened with new grout.
Classified as affordable housing, the building's 24 spacious apartments are now 100% occupied. Meanwhile, the CCNDC has moved on to the next big renovation project. You'll find them beginning an even more dramatic undertaking just a few blocks away.
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