 |
| Brownlow Lofts at the former Brownlow Elementary School |
I’ve heard of Brownlow Lofts the 4th and Gill area. I knew it was located in the former Brownlow Elementary School. I remembered the news story when it broke and the opening sales. Beyond that I had no clue.
 |
| Urban Woman checks out the interior of a loft at Brownlow Lofts. |
With the help and cooperation of Brownlow pioneer and personal friend of Urban Guy and Urban Woman, Ms. Connie, I recently got a small peak one of the units. Maybe more so than many developments, this one includes a very large range of sizes and shapes within its walls. Consider if you redesigned a classroom into a condo and then redesigned the stage area of the gymnasium into a condo. They would look considerably different.
 |
| Kitchen view in Brownlow Lofts. |
Ms. Connie’s condo was taken from the stage area of the gym and features great exposed brick walls and a very very high ceiling. It includes two bedrooms built over the main floor which includes the kitchen and den areas. The main bedroom is a loft with a view down on the rest of the condo giving a nice touch to a very cool space.
 |
| Ms. Connie hostin’ it up in her Brownlow Loft. |
More photos of the lofts are available on the link above. A number of the units remain unsold and are priced from just below 100K to just below 200K, which is pretty reasonable to be in such an historic and resurgent neighborhood. It’s also a pretty easy bike ride to the heart of downtown.
 |
| From the gym ceiling (master BR) overlooking the kitchen. |
The most interesting fact I learned about the building is that it was used in the film “Rocket Boys” for the interior shots of Big Creek High School. That’s probably an important fact in that to do the filming, the production company had to deal with the asbestos which, in turn, made the building more attractive for development as condos because that expensive hurdle had been crossed.
If you like touring condos in restored and preserved older buildings, you should consider buying tickets for the upcoming Downtown Home Tour sponsored by City People on October 9. Offering tours of a wide range of styles and sizes of homes, the tickets are $10 in advance and $15 the day of the tour and you can buy them here. It’s great fun – but be warned – many current downtown residents got hooked on downtown living during just such a tour!
