COLUMBIA, SC – In our pre-event coverage for GlobeSt.com's ADAPT awards, we have announced Hotel Trundle / BOURDREAUX Offices at the historic Powell Furniture Building in Columbia, SC as the winner of best strategic design for a commercial project. We will be honoring the project at our awards ceremony in Baltimore on September 16^th. GBX Group LLC, a firm specializing in acquiring and preserving historic real estate in urban markets, and the architectural firm BOUDREAUX are partnering with investors on a renovation and investment opportunity in Columbia, SC. The proposed plan to create a space for BOUDREAUX's new offices and the boutique hotel, Hotel Trundle, centered around the Powell Furniture Building in the Columbia Commercial Historic District. Through trusted business relationships and deals, the plan posed to expand the city's historic district by combining three dilapidated, vacant buildings; two of which were initially located in a different district. The lengthy process to combine the properties and receive historical approval for the additional Western Auto and Rose-Talbery Paints buildings as tax credit eligible spaces, allowed GBX Group LLC and BOUDREAUX to team up with husband and wife team, Marcus Munse and Rita Patel as investment partners to create a bold vision. The buildings, constructed in the early 1900s, span across 35,000 square feet and are located one block from Main Street. GBX Group LLC worked to preserve the property, utilizing archival photos of each building's façade to restore the structures back to their original terra cotta, wood and metal storefronts, with prism glass, plaster and metal panels. Design decisions and preservation efforts went into each corner of every room to retain the character and define building elements. In doing so, the buildings were allowed to join the city's historic district, resulting in benefits from National and State Historic Tax Incentives. As a historical landmark, the project presented a variety of interior challenges. The design team worked in unison with the project's contractor to ensure a cohesive design against different floor heights, outdated electrical systems, improper piping and limited space for common elements. The team worked closely with the State Historic Preservation office to meet occupancy requirements as they successfully designed a strategic layout that combined all three buildings with a designated, communal entryway contrary to the buildings' conflicting original design. The firm also strived to overcome tax credit application hurdles. Originally denied by the National Park Service, due to initial designs jeopardizing the historic integrity, the team was able to propose adaptations to resolve the issue and obtain approval by altering hotel rooms, extending historic ceilings and minimizing costs, all while working against a deadline. The tenant search and design process for the project began in 2016, with full construction underway in early 2017. BOUDREAUX moved into its new office space by July of 2017 while Hotel Trundle held its grand opening in April of 2018.

---

➤➤ Join your colleagues at the GlobeSt.com ADAPT: Opportunity Zones awards September 16th in Baltimore, MD, where we put a spotlight on the achievements of those who have had a hand in locating adaptive reuse solutions across the country. At the same time it is also focusing on Opportunity Zones and the potential they offer - for both adaptive reuse and new construction. Click here to register and view the agenda.

---