Lerner Ladds + Bartels to open up the Design Exchange in 2011

Pawtucket, RI – The creative buzz in Pawtucket will be getting louder when architecture firm Lerner Ladds + Bartels moves to a historic mill building at 161 Exchange Street. The office will be relocating from their roots in Providence early next year just in time to celebrate their 75th anniversary. Partners Chris Ladds and Kathy Bartels recently purchased the building and are planning a complete renovation, creating 15,000 square feet of available office and retail space. The west wing building is the last piece of the puzzle in rehabilitating this important area of Pawtucket; once the renovation is complete, the complex will collectively be known as the Design Exchange.
Morris Nathanson, principal of Morris Nathanson Design, envisioned the Design Exchange as a consortium of designers, craftspeople, and artisans. The name of the complex was crafted for its dual meaning as a collaborative exchange of design ideas at an arts‐centered location on Exchange Street. The proposed renovation project will realize Nathanson’s vision and enhance the adjacent buildings that are already bustling with creative pursuits. Through their relocation, LLB is emphasizing its commitment to building restoration, adaptive reuse, and design collaboration.
The award‐winning firm will be occupying the top floor of the four‐story building. Partner Kathy Bartels notes, “The existing space is raw enough to put our stamp on it and call it our own.” Chris Ladds mentions that it provides the studio‐feel they’ve been looking for and the loft‐like spaces that are conducive to a collaborative work environment. He adds that, “Collaboration is a big part of our practice… it’ll only be strengthened in this kind of setting.” The office will immediately bring with it twenty professional employees and support staff with an active involvement in the design and arts scene.
With floor plates at 5,000 square feet, the size of the building is a perfect fit for LLB; they hope to find like‐minded creative professionals to fill the second and third floors. “The goal is to attract creative professionals to the Design Exchange to forge opportunities in collaboration under one roof. Graphic designers, engineers, marketing strategists, these are all design disciplines that could really thrive within a creative neighborhood.” Others in the area include Morris Nathanson Design, The GAMM Theatre, Fuller Fine Jewelry, Orange Square Design, and the Pawtucket Armory Center for the Arts.
Even though their current location in the College Hill neighborhood of Providence has served them well, they have outgrown the Queen Anne
Victorian house owned by their late partner, Steve Lerner. “It’s been an asset to have a space where we could expand or contract as needed. It’s also been great being in this location, but for some years now, we’ve been bursting at the seams,” says Bartels.
LLB started their search for the perfect building some fifteen years ago. Although their ultimate goal was to remain in Providence, they ventured to East Providence and Bristol before finding a place to settle in Pawtucket. They were contacted by Morris and Phyllis Nathanson about two years ago. The beginnings of a purchase deal were being sketched out, but after the economic downturn in the fall of 2008, it was difficult to get any kind of financing for projects which banks deemed “speculative.”
The Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency facilitated the acquisition of the property by bridging a gap in financing due to the state’s imposition of a tax credit fee. In 2007, the State of Rhode Island imposed a 2.25% fee for tax credit certifications on rehabilitation projects and subsequently an additional .75% fee in 2008. The Nathansons secured the state historic tax credit status by paying the required fees before the state abandoned their historic tax credit program in 2008. These credits were critical to the viability of the renovation since other finances loaned by BankRI will be solely committed to the
construction of the project. In addition to the Pawtucket loan, which was instrumental in closing the deal, key individuals in the City of Pawtucket were invaluable resources to help navigate through regulatory and logistical challenges including Mayor James Doyle, Herb Weiss, Michael Cassidy, and Thomas Mann.
Despite the complication in financing and renovating the building, the partners steered away from purchasing a plot of land and constructing a new building. “The firm is really committed to the redevelopment of urban land and we saw this as the perfect opportunity to practice what we preach –sustainability and environmental responsibility,” Ladds said. Proximity to the highway, access to public transit, and a walkable community add to the appeal of the location.
The project could not have succeeded without the tireless help from several people. John Garrahy and Paul Harley, of the law practice Moses & Afonso, assisted the partners tremendously in shepherding the project through multiple closing agendas, including the complicated tax credit program. Ray Bourcier at DEC Consulting Company, who has previously worked with LLB, will be retained as project manager for the renovation of the Design Exchange. Bartels commented, “Hiring Ray was a great decision. We’ve developed a strong relationship with him through our projects at Brown University and the Moses Brown School and we know he can handle the project while we stay focused on our current clients and projects. He also provides us with a friendly reminder, at times, to take off our architect hats and put on our developer hats.”
Jim DeRentis of Residential Properties, formerly chief business officer at BankRI, will be marketing the leasable space on the second and third floors of the Design Exchange to prospective design professionals. The general contractor, Case Construction, has begun construction and will bring the project to life with historic mill character and state‐of‐the‐art building systems.
In the coming months, the Design Exchange will develop a website which will include video tours and floor plans at www.161exchange.com. LLB will be involved in marketing the concept to ensure that the design scene in Pawtucket continues to expand.