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Homeowners Katie and Amy Derringer have two children, Jolie and Efram, and a pair of pooches, Stella Mae and Blanche Devereaux. “All the makings of a modern-day Brady Bunch,” they say. In between home improvement projects, the family enjoys traveling—especially finding destinations off the beaten path—and spending time with friends.

The family was drawn to the neighborhood for its walkability, diversity, sense of community and unique homes. They had visited the neighborhood over the years and knew it was home to the most welcoming people in the city. “So, we wanted to move to Springfield as quickly as possible,” says Katie.

The couple’s first home in the neighborhood was built on a vacant lot they purchased in 2018. The new home was completed the following year. “In 2021—when we were ready for our next home—we knew that we wouldn’t consider anywhere else but Springfield. We had the opportunity to renovate an amazing commercial building in the neighborhood and give it a new life as our home and we jumped on it,” says Amy.

The 3,200-square-foot building was constructed in 1928 to be a print shop for Lamar J Wadworth. In 1935, New Way Rug Cleaners occupied the space. In 1940, it became home to Nelson Dry Cleaners. Next, in the 1950s, it was converted to a laundry called The Clothes Line. More businesses were still to come. In the 1960s, Harold Buchanan purchased the building for Buchanan Sign and Flag. During this time, Buchanan constructed an addition behind the building to bet- ter serve customers needing screen printing. In the early 1990s, when he left the neighborhood, the next owner renovated and sold the building. The last non-residential use of the property was as a boutique and mosque until it was purchased by Katie and Amy in 2021.

“We gutted the building down to the original brick walls and rebuilt the inside from the ground up. Since the building was previously commercial, it had to be completely outfitted for a residence,” Katie recalls. “The roof had fallen into terrible disrepair, it had termites and the mechanical, electrical and plumbing were out of date and not to code. We tried to be as hands-on as possible throughout our renovation to ensure we kept costs low and quality high. The experience was as challenging as we imagined it would be, but the end result was worth the effort, for sure. The back half is an unfinished garage workspace until our imaginations compel us to renovate that as well.”

“When we purchased the building, the front had been boarded up, a remnant of the neighborhood’s former decline. Part of our renovation was opening the front again and creating a facade that paid homage to the original storefront,” says Amy. “Our goal with the decor was modern industrial. Early in the renovation, we discovered beautiful brick walls under four layers of walls (lath and plaster, drywall and wood paneling.) We wanted to lean into the commercial, warehouse feel of exposed brick and extra high ceilings while keeping everything clean and simple. At some point in the home’s history, a large steel arm was installed and we left that in our hallway as a conversation piece. Plus, we just weren’t quite sure how to remove it!” *