If buildings could talk, the Lenox Flats would tell of being born in the heart of a boomtown.
But the Lenox has risen again, this time in a restored, National Register of Historic Places persona. It's ready to show off Thursday afternoon at a public grand opening, and by the end of the month it will hold 10 new households in its apartments and, project coordinators hope, offices and retail stores.
"It was in pretty bad disrepair," said Ren Essene, director of HomeWORD, which rehabilitated the building. "But we thought the Lenox had some really historic value and was an asset to the downtown."
Missoula architect Don MacArthur of MacArthur Means & Wells thought so, too, and became the project's architect.
"We valued the building as a part of the urban fabric that was irreplaceable," he said Wednesday at the Lenox.
"It's a very nice, solid building," he said. "As part of the fabric of the city, I think it's very important. Every time we pull down a building like this, we lose a part of that."
The Lenox was most recently owned by the county and served as a prerelease center for people making the transition from jail back to society. The building had had so many remodels, it was heavy with extra materials, Essene and MacArthur said. One of its three floors had three false ceilings.
"The building was really crying out for some help," Essene said.
HomeWORD, a support corporation of the Missoula-based Women's Opportunity and Resource Development that develops affordable housing, put together a package of grants, low-interest loans, tax credits, Missoula Redevelopment Agency help and street-front commercial space that will keep the rents in the 10 Lenox apartments low for at least 50 years. The apartments are a mix of studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms that will rent for $154 to $312 a month, which includes utilities.
The building's apartments filled after an open house for prospective tenants last month - Professional Property Management is beginning a waiting list - but about 2,000 square feet of build-to-suit commercial space is still available. HomeWORD had no trouble finding working or retired people who live on $12,500 a year or less. Some are single parents, some single older people, others single people who work in fast-food or discount retail stores.
"It's working folks," Essene said. "Really, this is the way the community subsidizes low-wage workers."
The renovation preserved the old details like leaded-glass windows and the carved staircase banister. But the three stories also feature energy-efficient windows and heating and cooling system and carpet and linoleum made of natural and recycled materials. Built-ins and cabinets in the apartments are made of wheatboard, a new woodlike substance made from wheat chaff and safe glue in North Dakota.
"We were looking for things that would last," said MacArthur, "and not create indoor air quality problems."
The Lenox also now has an elevator and a community room with mailboxes, furniture, two computers and telephones for its residents.
The high ceilings, big windows, brick interior walls and insulated space between the apartments are features that aren't affordable in new construction, MacArthur said.
The project is HomeWORD's fifth affordable housing project. Essene is pleased to take the Lenox full circle.
"It was actually built for an affordable housing need," she said, "so I like the idea of taking it back to that."
MacArthur is pleased to see the building shine again.
"It's been an amazing transformation," he said.
Reporter Ginny Merriam can be reached at 523-5251 or at gmerriam@missoulian.com.
If you're interested
HomeWORD invites the public to a grand opening celebration and tour of the newly renovated Lenox Flats, apartments and commercial space in the old Lenox Hotel at 300 W. Broadway from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Speakers will begin at 5 p.m. The event will include food, wine and music.
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