If you like your living space both vintage and modern touches, check out The Updegraff

If you like your living space with a little bit of vintage, a lot of industrial chic and the latest amenities, this might be the place for you.

It's taken a bit longer than anticipated, but renovations to the historic Updegraff building in downtown Hagerstown are nearly complete, and the first tenants are moving into the 21 new apartments on its upper levels.

The Updegraff, formerly the home of Potomac Beads at 51 W. Washington St., has undergone a top-to-bottom transformation by the father-son team of Tony and Hank Brown, incorporated as Blackthorn Capital Partners. They've tried to respect the historic integrity of the building, which once upon a time housed a hat factory on the upper floors to support retail on the ground floor, while providing modern amenities for the tenants.

The result is a marriage of high-tech and industrial chic: All of the studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments feature wi-fi, stainless-steel appliances, a washer-dryer combo and an intercom system with a security monitor that allows tenants to see guests before "buzzing them in." There's a new elevator and even a secure code-operated bin for package deliveries.

But the apartments also have original hardwood floors, large windows and high ceilings. Some also have exposed brick and pressed metal ceilings, and one even features the gears from the original elevator. On the ground floor, which soon will house Baile Cask & Kettle — with a bagel shop in the front and a pub in the back, they've even had lighting custom-made to match lights they found in a drawing of the original Updegraff retail space. Outside, there's a custom-made, vintage-looking door.

And if you look up at the side of the building from the city's Cultural Trail — or even from the sidewalk on West Washington — you'll see they've even repainted the antique Updegraff sign.

Think you'd like living in downtown Hagerstown? Read this report before you answer

Unexpected obstacles delay plan to start leasing last December

They'd planned to start leasing last December, but there were unexpected obstacles to overcome.

"Let me first tackle the challenges with it being a historic building," Hank Brown said during a recent tour. "So this structure has been around for 140 years, so we actually had to do some structural repairs. Some of those things don't show themselves when you initially see them, sometimes until you take down some walls and open up ceilings — then you can actually see the extent of the damage. So we've had to replace two lentils."

They had to replace two lentils, which turned out to be a major undertaking.

"It being a masonry building, you basically take down the bricks, and replace the lentils and build it back up is essentially what happens," he said, "so both of those lentils caused significant delays.

"We did have some supply chain issues … our elevator took a little bit of time. Electrical panels have been taking a long time … And then at some, at some points in the project, it was a slow week of not being able to get people out and then it'd be, you know, a really busy couple of weeks where we have a bunch of people here working, which is great to see."

Blackthorn had applied for the city of Hagerstown for its available grant programs for redevelopment, but the delays required them to get extensions for the completion deadlines. But now the bulk of the building is complete, and all the grant requirements have been met, Brown said.

These Washington County developers are putting old buildings back to work.

Convenience, location among lures for new Updegraff tenants

Some of the apartment tenants already have moved in, and Blackthorn is actively leasing the rest, he said; floorplans and application materials are available at apartments.com. So far, Brown said, the tenants all work in or around Hagerstown, and they like the convenience.

But he said there are several factors that are bringing tenants to the building, he said.

"I think it's a combination of where we are, in particular in the Arts and Entertainment District; the level of finishes we've put into the units — the units have history, character, they're upgraded to modern living style. So I think it checks a lot of those boxes for individuals.

"We thought coming into the project we would probably be attracting young professionals, people who are maybe about to retire or downsizing or are retired … I think it's a little bit of a mix. Yeah, I mean, we definitely have younger, older individuals interested."

It was a bit of a risk to take the project on. And when the Browns contracted to purchase the building, plans for the new stadium on its back doorstep hadn't even been announced, he said.

"We knew that they were talking about potentially doing it, but there was no guarantee that the baseball stadium was going to come," he said. "But what we did know was the Cultural Trail and Maryland Theatre. And that was enough for us to move forward on this project."

What's next for Blackthorn Capital Partners?

Will there be more downtown projects for Blackthorn? Possibly, he says.

"I think we've had a great experience working with the city on this project, so that has given us you know, some interest in wanting to do more. We think that downtown is coming along. There's definitely more work to be done on various projects throughout the city, and if we get involved in one of them, that'd be great," he said, but they're waiting to see if the right project comes along.

In the meantime, he's aware that there's an attitude among some about downtown Hagerstown, but he has a response for that.

"There are issues with every city in America; I don't think that's unique to Hagerstown," he said. "I do think the city's working very hard, very diligently about various problems that there may be, but I think they continue to march forward" by rehabbing buildings and bringing more people "willing to live downtown because of the various amenities that are offered here" and trying to attract more businesses to the general area. I think these are all positive momentum factors that we're going to see this downtown fully take on its proper shape."

A grand opening for the apartments is set for 10 a.m. May 13. Watch for announcements about Baile's bagel shop opening in early summer at 53 W. Washington.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: After a transformation, The Updegraff building is ready for tenants