Transformation is always happening,
Go behind the scenes of our renovation process thus far…
The Factory on Willow is a historical gem, built in 1880 and meticulously restored from 2019-2021; it first operated as McElwain Shoe Company’s Cohas Factory and later as Johnson Shoe Company - manufacturing shoes until 1972. Once a manufacturing hub, this storied mill has been rejuvenated into the vibrant community known as The Factory on Willow and reopened its doors to Manchester in 2021 offering 61 studio apartments, 16 AirBnBs, event & commercial space, and more.
AUGUST 2021
Throughout this month we have been able to make great progress in the food hall. The install of the food truck take out windows took place. They were planned out accordingly to make sure the height of the sill would work for the truck taking food orders and the people ordering form them. The double door entrance was installed as well as an indoor ramp. Also within this timeframe painting of the halls walls and ceiling were complete. The polishing of the concrete floors process began as well.
JUNE & JULY 2021
The design of the 4 furnished studio apartments begins. Starting with measurements of the same floor and space plans were then developed. To meet the needs of The Factory’s main goal which is to be able to live, work and play searching for furniture and décor began. Most of these items were purchased from Bob’s and Wayfair, along with a trip to HomeSense to get desks, office chairs, plants and throw pillows.
APRIL & MAY 2021
Airbnb theme names and rooms are finalized. The first set of finished rooms are listed on the Airbnb website. The second set of rooms are close to being finished as we wait for the rest of the furniture to be delivered. Appliances, furniture, décor and supplies are set up in the rest of the rooms and they become listed.
FEBRUARY & MARCH 2021
The Airbnb concept is developed as our team brainstorms room themes through mood boards and creating names for each space. By taking measurements and building the rooms digitally in SketchUp, we were able to see how much space we had to work with and what size furniture to purchase in order to move comfortably through the room.
JANUARY 2021
The studio live/work apartments continue to get all the focus. Kitchen cabinets installed, full painting on two floors were completed. New electrical service installed just in time for all the new appliances that arrived for the finished units. Progress was made in the common space with flooring being installed. The environmental remediation project moved into the final stage.
NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2020
In November and December our studio apartments began all the glory! Interior framing and sheetrock was completed and crews started to work on finish work! Kitchen installs began, bathrooms were outfitted and the entry roof and stairs we completed. The first two phases of the environmental remediation project was also completed.
SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2020
As we are taking down & rebuilding elements of The Factory we are constantly reminded of the large amount of building relics that we want to repurpose. The beautiful original cast iron that once had a practical use of being used for the furnace system may have to be transformed into artwork to remind us of the previous generations this building has hosted. Lots of painting, pipes, ventilation and exterior demo taking place. We are finding our original concept is continuously being tweaked to further suit the needs of our growing vision of the Factory and the potential of what we think it could provide to Manchester. Construction remains to go smoothly as the Eckman Team hammers away each day. In fact we may be a little a head of schedule at this point and are looking forward to hopefully sharing some great news soon!
JUNE & AUGUST 2020
With all the running around getting things done at the Factory and we have yet to give a summer update. The team at Eckman Construction is doing a phenomenal job keeping us on track with our timeline and we are thankful! The colossal task of window installation is almost complete and we are thrilled with how they look. Things are starting to take shape on the interior and we are starting to see the drywall being installed.
MAY 2020
As spring continues we continue our mission of replacing hundreds of windows around the structure. Along with tearing down the west side of the building and clearing the remaining debris we are also reinforcing areas of the structure that have become weaker over the years. Every week we continue to be blown away by the beauty of the property.
APRIL 2020
It's already spring time! Well... sort of, the weather makes up its own mind. We can feel the sun through our open space and the construction team is pushing forward on the next phase of construction. Eckman Construction has begun framing of our Studio and One Bedroom units on the 4th Floor with plumbing and electrical following behind. It's exciting to start to see our vision take shape that we have seen only two dimensionally on paper. The project takes a new form every day and the progress is exciting to watch.
MARCH 2020
The Ides of March have flown bye and we can see all the demolition they Eckman team has done to our west facade. Global situations have shifted things a little here and there in places but we are still optimistic we will finish by spring 2021. Every day things change shape, spaces are getting cleaned up and the beautiful 100 year old wood through the property is looking better and better. We are SO excited!
FEBRUARY 2020
The month has just started and already the team at Eckman is onto removing the old mill style single-pane windows to eventually be replaces with ones that will do a much better job at keeping out commercial & residential tenants warm.
JANUARY 2020
The Eckman construction team has been working daily to bring the The Factory on Willow back to its original polish. Finishing the demolition phase & sand-blasting all the enormous wood beams and boards that line the ceilings are giving this project a nice feeling of warmth finally! Each day more hues of burgundy, scarlet, cherry and chestnut are revealed as Eckman continues this treatment on brick walls as-well. Theirs a new vibe of excitement in the air and we feel it the second we step foot onto the work site. We are marveled with how much of a visual improvement has already happen as you can guess we are eager to see what the next phase of construction will bring.
