Tax Credit Program Highlight: Waddell's Housefurnishing Co. Building

History

The Waddell’s Housefurnishing Company Building is a four-story brick warehouse built in 1912 as a storage facility and mattress factory. Waddell’s was a successful family-run furniture business, founded in Houston in 1882 by Irish immigrant Hugh Waddell. The original location on Main Street was run for many years by Hugh and his two sons. The company grew quickly, constructing a new building on Prairie Avenue in 1895, expanding further with this Sampson Street warehouse in 1912, and then by a mattress factory in 1928. Originally this complex was served by its own railroad spur extending from the adjacent rail yard, enabling easy shipping.

Rehabilitation Project

Local developers converted this disused warehouse into trendy and attractive loft apartments that feature views of downtown Houston. The building was vacant for decades before this rehabilitation project began, and it first needed extensive repairs. The original wood windows were deteriorated beyond repair, and were replaced with custom matching windows. The northern face of the building originally had no windows, but windows were permitted to be added, in order to take in the skyline views. The interior of the building was subdivided into apartments, and the design prioritized and retained the industrial quality and materials found inside. Residents can still experience the exposed brick walls, ceiling beams and joists, thick wood floors, heavy rolling fire doors, the freight elevator, and even some non-historic graffiti that the developers chose to retain.