Along with the crack of a bat and an umpire's calls at home plate this summer there will be heard the sounds of jackhammers, nail guns and drills. The Toof Building, abutting
AutoZone Park to the northwest, is getting a makeover inside and out in preparation for 60 apartments. The five-story, $5 million development will be mixed use, with residential above and retail below.
Montgomery Martin Contractors LLC is handling renovation with design by
Looney Ricks Kiss, Architects. The building is owned by developers Wilton "Chick" Hill and Casey Hill of Left Field Properties LLC.
S.C. Toof & Co., one of the oldest commercial printers in the Mid-South, was originally founded in 1864. In 1913, the Toof Building, in the architectural style of the Chicago School, was completed as an administrative and production facility.
Apartments will have window views of the ballpark to the east and south, and there are plans for a rooftop terrace, said Rob Norcross, architect with LRK. Those windows will open among paintings of families, playing children and local faces, as the east wall of the building is home to the iconic mural by artist Jeff Zimmerman.
The Toof Building sits across the street from
Visible Music College, currently undergoing further renovation as it transforms its basement area into a recording studio, and on the Madison trolley line. It's a direct shot, and only a few blocks, to the Edge District, now being touted as the
Mayor’s Innovation District, and the Medical Center beyond.
"It's exciting. I think there's certainly some more opportunity on the street as we go east," Norcross said.
With construction begun over the winter, the completion date on the apartments is set for end of 2014.
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