LOS ANGELES-The historic Chapman Building will soon start its new life as a 168-unit condominium conversion called the Chapman, a project of Heritage Group Development. Heritage expects the first buyers to move into the 95-year-old building at Broadway and Eighth Street this summer.

Built by the Los Angeles Investment Co. in 1912, the Beaux Arts building was one of the first high rises in Los Angeles at 13 stories. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is designated a City of Los Angeles Cultural Monument.

Before construction began, the Chapman building was occupied by tenants involved in light industrial production and jewelry stores on the ground floor. Today the Chapman is home to units of 600 sf to 1,300 sf that are expected to sell for $300,000 to $800,000.

In an adaptive reuse project designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects, Heritage has restored the building lobby, wood casework, staircase and antique chandelier. The building features rooftop gardens that offer a 360-degree view of Los Angeles.

The developer says that a key to the restoration was preserving and restoring entry doors on each unit, restored brass and mahogany elevators, original floor tiles combined with polished cement floors, exposed brick walls and original large windows. Among the modern touches are new stainless steel kitchen appliances and modern bathrooms.

Mark Farzan, managing partner of Heritage Group Development, points out that the restored property occupies a site in "one of the busiest retail districts in the city." He notes that its location at 756 S. Broadway is in the heart of the historic theater district, home to movie palaces of the 1920s and 1930s. In addition to the condominiums, the project will include retail space on the ground floor along the Broadway and Eighth Street frontages.