Thursday, June 4, 2015

Ka-Ching! Riviera Building Sells For Big Bucks (A Lot of #TBT Too)


We think the building at the southwest corner of Broadway and Lawrence, where Bank of America is located, is a fabulous and handsome restoration. In fact, someone liked 4752-4760 Broadway so much that they just paid $2.85 million for it.  According to Real Estate Journal, it just sold to Lake Pointe Apartments & Development Group, LLC.  The seller was an unnamed private investment firm.

We're very interested in seeing what the new owners do with it, particularly the second and third floors, which have been empty since its 2007-08 restoration.

Update: According to DNAinfo, the new owner is Mike Krueger, and the second and third floors will be converted to soft lofts.  Mr. Krueger is the owner of the rehabbed building at Leland and Broadway, which houses 42 grams and Spoil Me Salon on the ground level and market-rate rental apartments above.  He also owns 4635-41 North Broadway, and had sought approval to add a level and upgrade the interior.  However, that was in autumn of 2013 and nothing has been done to the building since, so we're not sure what's his plans are for that property.

Because it's Throwback Thursday, this is what the building looked like before the restoration. Brace yourselves!

Photo credit to Keith Brown on Flickr
Yuck!  Apparently when the exterior started to deteriorate, the easy fix was to slap on some metal panels to hide the damage.  Until 2007, this was how the building looked.  Uptown Update began publishing in May 2007, and the bloggers at the time took a keen interest in the progress being made, with extensive posts and photos.

First the horrible tan panels were removed, leaving just the framework in place.  In fact, one of the posts on the very first day of the blog's existence recorded that moment:
May 15, 2007 blog post
  • They chronicled the removal of the bad bricks (June 10, 2007).
  • The removal of the metal framework that held the panels in place and the windows (June 21, 2007)
  • The restoration of the bricks and debris coming out of the second and third floors (July 11, 2007)
  • The addition of terra cotta to the exterior, copying the building's original design (July 19, 2007)
  • A look inside the lower level, which was gutted and found to be mostly ... sand. Lots and lots and lots of sand, which had to be removed (August 21, 2007)
  • The addition of copper cornices, consistent with the original design (August 26, 2007)
  • The addition of windows to the second floor (September 8, 2007)
  • The addition of even more windows, basically completing the Lawrence side of the building (September 13, 2007)
  • Ground level retail windows get installed (May 8, 2008)
  • And workers get going on the retail level brick work (May 13, 2008)
  • Bank of America signage goes up on the nearly complete building (June 30, 2008).
  • Corner retail plywood is removed, and you can see the entrance to the new Bank of America branch that looks ready to open (August 22, 2008)
  • Some final touches, getting ready for Bank of America's September 22, 2008 opening (September 6, 2008)
  • After all that work, the building was nearly unrecognizable -- unless you were around in 1924. The current restoration is nearly a carbon copy.  Certainly one of the best and most detail-oriented rehabs in Uptown, and what a nice change!
1924 photo courtesy of Theatre Historical Society of America
We can't wait to see what is next for this beautifully restored gem, as the new owners take over. Please, some second and third floor tenants?

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