The new Owners of 104 Jefferson Street hired JS Building Co. upfront to assist from pre-purchase cost analysis to final occupancy, changing the historic 11,000 square foot building downtown into modern “A” office space. By all measures, the new space is a big success.

Work began by reinforcing aged and sagging roof structure and exposing brick walls behind old plaster and drywall. A sleek glass street front was added, incorporating custom hand-made doors crafted from wooden rafters salvaged from the second-floor ceiling. Major lobby reconfigurations took place to update the existing stairway and to add a separate entrance from the basement directly on to Jefferson Street. The character of the space continued to take shape with the addition of exposed sprinkler pipes and artistic lighting fixtures.

A highlight of the renovation emerged when during removal of the lobby plaster, an old painted “Bull Durham Tobacco. Co.” sign was discovered. The intact image had been painted decades before when 104 Jefferson’s interior was the exterior wall of a 1920s hardware store. The newly uncovered sign was quickly incorporated into 104 Jefferson’s Lobby aesthetic.

Financial services provider Prime Lending took the main level using modern glass office fronts and sliding glass office doors. KPS Architects created their new space in a similar glass door/ open-ceiling concept to accent the extra height of the restructured roof.