Architect sees new life for plant

Walnut saplings grow through the concrete ramp on the west side, and pigeons fly under what is left of the roof on the north end. The floor is covered with dust, posters advertising Angus beef and occasional animal droppings. Windows are bricked in, broken or both. Boxes of salami packaging and rolls of barcode stickers clutter the upper level.

Welcome to one of Columbia’s trendiest buildings.

The Diggs Packing Co. building, at the northwest corner of Hinkson Avenue and Fay Street, was built in 1922 in the utilitarian, industrial architectural style of the time: rectangular shape and plain red bricks. In 1930, W.E. Rader and Thomas Diggs leased part of the building to host their newly founded meatpacking business. For the next 75 years, the factory became inextricably tied to the Diggs family and the meat industry.

But the Diggs family’s meatpacking activities ceased in 2005. The following winter, the roof collapsed, taking most of the north outside wall with it.

Owners Dale and Audrey Diggs sold the building to architect Brian Pape.

Pape said he thinks the Diggs took his offer because he wanted to preserve the building’s historic features. Most other developers who see a building in such poor condition only think about tearing it down, he said.

“To me, it doesn’t make much sense to restore an old building in this condition if it’s not going to be preserved historically,” Pape said. “It’s my passion to save old buildings and to see the intrinsic value in the old.”

Even though the building was constructed for utilitarian purposes, it shows good craftsmanship, especially in the masonry detailing on the exterior walls, Pape said.

“For an industrial building, today, you wouldn’t have any of this detail,” he said.

Pape said he also intends to preserve the timber-post-and-beam structure of the building wherever possible and would like to keep the heavy, vault-style doors of the former coolers.

“I’m going to keep the packing plant theme,” Pape said. “It’s always going to be the Diggs building.”

Pape wants to rezone the property from M-1, general industrial, to C-2, central business, and to apply a historic overlay district to ensure preservation requirements are met.

At a public hearing May 18, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning. The Historic Preservation Commission also recommended approval. Pape, who is chairman of the commission, recused himself for the vote. The City Council will hold another public hearing and is scheduled to vote on the rezoning tonight.

Dale Diggs said he approved of the redevelopment but declined to comment further. He said at the May 18 hearing that he’s happy the building will be renovated and that his family’s history there will be remembered.

The rezoning would allow Pape to go ahead with plans to transform the old factory into a residential, office and commercial complex.

It takes some imagination to picture the run-down building as a Columbia landmark, complete with businesses, a café and rooftop terraces, which is why Pape has avoided showing it too much before work has begun. The renovation will cost about $4 million, Pape said, and should be done next year. He expects the rent to be $1 per square foot.

Pape’s plans include eight loft apartments on the north side; two of them will have two stories, Pape said.

“The apartments will be all-new except for the posts and beams we can save,” he said.

The south side of the building will be devoted to business and office use. Pape said he hopes to attract artists. The former slaughter area will become a large art studio, and the large cattle-holding room will be turned into a performing center.

Pape’s main tenant is The Warehouse Studios, a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide affordable studio space for local artists.

“Everybody can benefit from having all the different types of use in one building,” said Stephanie Lyons, executive director of The Warehouse Studios. Lyons said she hopes the circulation of residents and workers will increase publicity, and thus revenue, for the artists.

All involved said they hope the redevelopment will not only help the artists but also the entire neighborhood.

The North Central Columbia Neighborhood Association has been working on reviving the neighborhood, preserving its history and creating an artists village.

“Mr. Pape’s plan exactly coincides with our vision for the area,” association president Linda Rootes said. “Historically, there were houses in this area in addition to the packing plant and other commercial buildings, and all the houses in this area have disappeared.”

Pape said the main advantage of mixing residential with commercial use is that the building will be occupied at all hours.

“It brings 24-hour liveliness,” he said. “I felt it was very important to bring residents back in the neighborhood who would be invested in the area.”

Rootes said the Diggs building could become an anchor for the neighborhood, along with the Hamilton Brown shoe factory, which is now known as the Atkins Building.

“We were very concerned that the Diggs building was going to be destroyed after it was vacated,” Rootes said, “It’s a real icon for the neighborhood, and the redevelopment of the area would have been changed if that building had been lost.”