The last time we were inside The Welsh (that’s the name of the new community center at the Neighborhood Launch development Downtown) it was mostly drywall and sawdust. Six month later, the conversion of the former Faith Mission building is wrapping up with construction and most of the amenities are now in place and functional for the residents of the condos and apartments nearby.
“We came in and demo’ed practically everything,” explained Kim Ulle, President at Eclipse Real Estate Group, a division of The Edwards Companies, developer of Neighborhood Launch. “The church was originally built in 1867, and we managed to uncover the original ceiling and wooden beams and recreated the front windows very similar to the originals.”
The main floor of the new facility now includes an array of seating areas, flat-screen TVs, fireplaces, a pool table, a communal kitchen area and an impressive wall-mounted sculpture made from restored pipe organ pieces. Two additional apartment units have been added into a 1940s-era addition on the back of the origianl church. The basement has also been renovated to include a fitness center and movie theater room for residents, and come spring, another addition to the facility will be found out back.
“Our pool area didn’t get opened this year, but it will be open next year,” said Ulle. “Of course, we also have Cafe Brioso going in next door with more eight more apartments above that, and we have another retailer in negotiations but no signed lease just yet.”
The renovations and interior design for The Welsh was handled by Lupton Rausch Architects of Columbus and Studio 4D of Denver.
The Welsh also serves as both the leasing office for The Normandy apartments and the sales office for Bishop’s Walk condos.
For more information, visit www.bethenormandy.com and www.neighborhoodlaunch.com.
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All photos by Walker Evans.