Project Type: Adaptive Use - Creative Office Size: 28,000 SF Construction cost: Withheld Completion: 2021 Project Role: Project Executive | Design team lead Firm: Smith Dalia Architects
The adaptive use of the 19th-c. Excelsior Mill, also commonly known as the Masquerade music venue, is the capstone of the complete revitalization of the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. The mill once manufactured excelsior, a type of packing material made from pine shavings. Small pine timber was transported to the mill via the adjacent railroad line that later became the BeltLine. The renovated building houses creative office spaces, including a new core area located in between the original Mill and Warehouse buildings. Adjacent to North & Line Apartments, and with Ponce City Market just across North Avenue, The Mill completes the area’s village scale. Re-opening windows has brought daylight deep into interior spaces, while accent lighting puts the rustic stone walls on display. Exposed heavy timber posts, beams and trusses also showcase the building’s mill history. The design interweaves contemporary and historic narratives toward each with a balanced aesthetic between old and new.
As Project Executive, Anne Michael led the design team through initial design to construction of the project and was the main client contact from concept through completion.