Apr

Cotton Mill Lofts

Cotton Mill Lofts is a 32 unit general family affordable housing apartment community located 101 S Houston Street, in Hawkinsville, Georgia, along the Ocmulgee River.

This project qualified for incentives under the Georgia Power Earthcents Home Energy Improvement Program and was also certified under the EarthCraft Multifamily Renovation program as an adaptive reuse project.

The Cotton Mill Lofts project was awarded the 2013 EarthCraft Award of Environmental Excellence!

This property was the second project for Synergy.

Cotton Mill Lofts is special in many ways. The original building was constructed in the late 1800’s. This was an adaptive reuse project converting a building originally designed to be a cotton mill. The property is, most recently, the former Pillowtex Mill.

Partial funding came under HUD’s HOPE VI Main Street program, a special grant designed to expand the production of affordable housing to rural communities’ historic central business or “Main Street” areas. The Cotton Mill Lofts project is part of a broader effort by the city of Hawkinsville to revitalize their downtown.

Cotton Mill Lofts is owned and operated by Landmark Property Management Company of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The general contractor for this project was Rehab Builders of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They specialize in adaptive reuse projects.

Synergy entered the affordable general family housing portion of this project at the beginning of the EarthCraft-related phases of construction. When we first entered the building, I was scared! I was scared for my safety when looking at the condition of the building. I was also scared that the owner and general contractor would never be able to reach their goals. Fortunately, both fears were proven to be wrong. I did not fall through a floor or through the roof. And yes, they met or exceeded each of their goals.

In summary, their goals were to:

Retain as much of the original character of the building.
Repair the sub-structures of the building
Convert the building into 32 apartments (a combination of single story, loft, and townhouse style) all under one structure.
Meet all of the energy efficiency and sustainability goals.

Besides the 32 affordable housing units, the project also included 11 market rate housing units and a Community Market.

Under the Georgia Power Earthcents Home Energy Improvement Program the combination of improvements and test results indicated that the tenants in these apartments should see an energy savings of nearly 45% (on average) versus apartments constructed to current building and energy codes. Think about it… beauty and energy efficiency all in one package! Yes, it can be done!

Synergy was given two photos that were taken by the general contractor more than 2 years prior to Synergy entering the project. Synergy also has a great collection of before and after photos. They will tell more of the story than we ever could with words. Check out the photo gallery below to see the wow.

Synergy’s only role at Cotton Mill Lofts was to provide EarthCraft Technical advisory, inspection, and testing services. We had no other role in this project.

Leasing Information

For leasing or other information, please call 478-783-4885 or visit their website.

Feel free to leave comments or questions about Cotton Mill Lofts below.

Cotton Mill Lofts Photo Gallery

For a larger view and a description, please click on a photo.

Cotton Mill Lofts 01
Cotton Mill Lofts received the 2013 EarthCraft Award of Environmental Excellence.
Cotton Mill Lofts 02
This photo shows portions of the textile and cotton mill that was removed as part of the restoration.
Cotton Mill Lofts 03
This photo shows portions of the textile and cotton mill that was removed as part of the restoration. The red and white tower to the right in the photo remained.
Cotton Mill Lofts 04
This is the roof of one portion of the building. No, I did not feel good standing there taking that photo.
Cotton Mill Lofts 05
This is the underside of that roof. In about 12 months, this large warehouse room would house 4 loft style apartments. Also, some of the larger holes became sky lights to offer natural lighting to the hallways.
Cotton Mill Lofts 06
This is the underside of the lower floor ceiling.
Cotton Mill Lofts 07
This is a closer view of that roof.
Cotton Mill Lofts 08
This photo shows a plant growing through the wall approximately 10 feet above the ground.
Cotton Mill Lofts 09
Insulation is not exciting to everyone, but it is a key component in comfort. The quality of the installation is one of the biggest factors in how well it performs.
Cotton Mill Lofts 10
This is the view of Cotton Mill Lofts that faces the main highway.
Cotton Mill Lofts 11
This view shows the tower from one of the before photos. As you can see, the finished work looks like a totally different place.
Cotton Mill Lofts 12
This is the hallway outside the loft apartments (on the left) and two levels of single story apartments on the right. Note the skylights above.
Cotton Mill Lofts 13
This particular apartment was, at one time, a boiler room. The duct work is exposed to maintain the character of the building.
Cotton Mill Lofts 14
This is the living room of a 2-bedroom apartment.
Cotton Mill Lofts 15
This is a view of a living room and into the bedroom of a 1-bedroom apartment.
Cotton Mill Lofts 16
This is the view of the air conditioning ducts in another apartment preserving the character of Cotton Mill Lofts.
Cotton Mill Lofts 17
This is a typical kitchen at Cotton Mill Lofts.
Cotton Mill Lofts 18
This is the living room and bedroom of a 1-bedroom aparment as decorated for the open house.
Cotton Mill Lofts 19
This is the living room of a 2-bedroom apartment as decorated for the open house.
Cotton Mill Lofts 20
This is a typical bath at Cotton Mill Lofts.

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Contact

p 478-697-5609

t 478-697-5609

Business Hours

Mon - Fri

800am - 500pm