BRILLIANT CONVERSION A wrecked building finds its ultimate purpose Written by Neil Charles / Photographed by Adam Gibson Over the course of the past decade or so, here at Sophisticated Living Indianapolis we have featured many wonderful homes, including a loft conversion or two whose unique challenges always ensure that we will be both delighted and thrilled by their outcomes. Nothing in our experience had prepared us for this issue’s featured residence, however: a truly spectacular renovation that melds the old, the new and repurposed objets trouvés into a seamless expression of one couple’s unique sensibilities on a scale that is, frankly, breathtaking. Occupying not one, but two expansive century-plus-old buildings on a previously commercial stretch of North Alabama Street, the home is the project of former TWG Development CEO Joe Whitsett and his wife Julie, who share many years’ experience renovating and repurposing rundown schools, churches and office buildings into affordable housing for seniors and families. When 66 slmag.net
Joe retired from TWG, the couple were living on a large lot in a quiet residential neighborhood off 56th Street but found themselves drawn to a life downtown closer to friends and restaurants. “When we were looking at properties, all I knew was that if we moved downtown, we would have to find some green space,” explains Julie. Having been in the past the home to a tailor, a high-end auto supply and repair shop, then finally a taxi service, the property the couple finally chose had lain empty since the 1980s. When Joe first walked into the building, it was with a weed eater in hand, cutting a path for himself through vegetation and trees that had grown up through the floors. With green space in short supply on the near northside, the couple decided to create their own by demolishing all but two walls of the southerly building, removing the concrete floor and installing a beautiful and relaxing garden complete with covered patio and plate glass windows overlooking the street.
