Architect's gems renovated for sale
By MICHAEL MOORE of the Missoulian
A.J. Gibson is likely Missoula's most famous architect, so perhaps it's fitting that some of his buildings are undergoing a renaissance of sorts.
As condominiums.
“I think that the people who will buy into these sorts of places are people who want some part of preserving a part of the past,” said Realtor Ed Coffman, who is selling condos in one of Gibson's buildings.
Gibson, who designed the Missoula County Courthouse, the first five buildings built at the University of Montana and the Daly Mansion in Hamilton, was a prolific architect around the turn of the 20th century.
Adam Kocsondy works on the exterior restoration of the Babs building on South Fourth Street Tuesday afternoon. The historic building, once known as the Garden City Commercial College and later the Babs Apartments, is being renovated into condominiums, starting at $268,000. Photo by LINDA THOMPSON/Missoulian
And in 1902, he began design on a “grand apartment house and commercial building” near the Clark Fork River at Higgins Avenue. Nearly two decades later, he designed another building at 432 W. Spruce St. That building is also being renovated, as both commercial and condo space.
The 1902 building was typical Queen Anne architecture, with two towers and gabled windows at the top. For part of its history, the building was known as the Garden City Commercial College, but in the past 60 years or so it's been known as the Babs Apartments.
Babs, it seems, was the name of then-owner Jerry Aasheim's daughter, who is now a schoolteacher in Oregon.
The Babs once had a speakeasy on one of the top floors, but more recently it's been a rental that housed a host of UM students and a cast of downtown characters.
Even so, time was taking its toll on Gibson's work. Slowly, the building was falling apart.
“The building had been given to the St. Patrick Foundation and was still being used as a rental, and when it came time to sell it, the three offers I had for it were all from developers who were planning condos,” said Coffman, who works for Lambros Real Estate. “Because of the cost of renovations, it's really not viable as apartments any more.”
Coffman, who once longed to buy the building himself, understands the appeal the Babs had for students and other apartment dwellers. Situated a block from the river on South Fourth Street, the Babs backs into the Hip Strip, with its string of stylish shops and restaurants. It's close enough to UM to bike and walk, and now within shouting distance of two excellent bakeries.
All those things will make it eminently appealing to condo buyers.
“The talk is that Missoula is no longer a town but a city, and that's true,” Coffman said. “We've got a lot of different people in Missoula now, and a lot of them are looking for city things, like living downtown and walking. This is going to appeal to that group.”
Unlike the Wilma across the river, the Babs condos are being sold at least partially renovated. In fact, Coffman thinks most buyers will go for fully renovated units, which will feature high-end appliances, tile and wood floors, and limestone or granite countertops.
In a word, swank.
The building was purchased by Tevirra, a Montana development company specializing in high-end residential and commercial projects.
The project even has its own Web site - thebabsproject.com - replete with the company's plans and the building's history. There's even a place for people to tell stories about the building.
This week, construction crews are busily at work on new windows throughout the building, as well as finishing up on a model condo on the first floor.
“Right now, we're not really ready for people to come see the place, but we should have the model done in a couple of weeks, and I think that will really give people the sense of what we're doing here,” said Coffman.
Make no mistake - the Babs is a high-end project and it's not cheap. The least expensive condos, which are one-bedrooms with about about 700 square feet - cost $268,000.
“New construction is much cheaper, but look at what you're getting here,” Coffman said.
The most expensive units, which are house-sized at more than 1,300 square feet - are close to $500,000.
While that might be out of the price range of most Missoulians, Coffman says the price won't be a problem.
“I don't need it to be priced for everyone - just one or two people,” he said. “And those people are coming to Missoula now. Sometimes it's a second house. Sometimes it's someone who lived here, moved away to make their fortune and now is coming back.”
In fact, Susan Liane, the president of the Missoula Organization of Realtors, said Missoula's condo market has prices to fit most buyers.
“Condos are a way for people to get in at the lower end of the housing market, but there is also a luxury element at the top end that will draw a select group of buyers,” Liane said. “That's the group that Ed's looking for. And I'm sure he'll find them.”
Compared with years' past, the Missoula housing market is flush with condos. As of June 30, 1,059 homes were on the market in Missoula. Nearly 25 percent of those were condominiums.
“I don't have the numbers, but it's certainly a higher percentage of condos than we've had historically,” Liane said. “The good thing about it is there is something in every price range.”
For those in the range of the Babs, the living will be sweet. The finished units - the renovation is being done by Mostad Construction - will have Aga ranges, Liebherr refrigerators and Bosch washers, dryers and dishwashers.
The lighting fixtures will be styled on the building's past, and some of the old wood floors will be fully restored. There will also be a club room for members, complete with a flat-panel television, a wet bar and a pool table.
“The building needed a lot of attention, and it's really getting it,” said Coffman. “It was built as luxury apartments, and it's being returned to that condition.”
Although the Babs will be a fabulous place, there's no getting around the fact that 14 affordable apartments are now off the Missoula rental market, which was already extremely tight.
“We need to have a discussion about this in our community, because it really is a problem for us,” Coffman said. “It's a good thing for buildings like this to get restored, but we also have to find places for everyone to live.”
