Mill Conversion or mill rehab is a form of adaptive reuse in which a historic mill or industrial factory building is restored or rehabilitated into another use, such as residential housing, retail shops, office, or a mix of these non-industrial elements (mixed-use).
In the United States the development of industry during 19th and early 20th century resulted in the construction of thousands of mills or factory buildings typically of brick or stone masonry construction across the nation, with a high concentration in the Northeast. By 1920, there were hundreds of mill towns across the region built for the production of textiles and other goods, such as shoes, machinery and other items. However, the Northern textile industry would suffer greatly beginning in the early 1920s, with the failure of many of these companies, and the rise in competition from Southern mills. Other industries would follow, especially during the later part of the 20th century, when globalization changed the economy, and entire industries began to move overseas to developing nations. Through the 20th century, many mills carried on in a variety of industrial purposes, other than original intended use. Many were used for storage, or other small enterprises. Still, many more remained mostly vacant and underutilized through the middle part of the 20th century, and even today. Many vacant mill buildings have become a target for vandalism, arson and contribute to urban blight in many communities.
A similar scenario has also played out in Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe during this same timeframe.
Beginning in the 1960s, there was a large public outcry throughout the United States for an increase in historic preservation, to stop the loss of historic structures that began during the 1950s with urban renewal projects in big cities and small towns across the nation. A similar movement occurred in Great Britain decades earlier.
One result of this outcry was the establishment of the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, by the Federal Government. Since this time, more than one-million listings have been added to the National Register, on many types of structures and places across the country. While not a certain guarantee that a structure will never be demolished, the National Register provides owners with a tool to seek national and state tax credits, grants and other assistance that may enable the rehabilitation of the building.
Since the 1960s communities across the country have established Historic Districts and special by-laws in an attempt to preserve and prevent the destruction of properties deemed important to the context of history.
The first successful textile mill in the United States was Slater Mill, established by Samuel Slater in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1793. With its significant historic value, the drive to restore Slater Mill into a public museum began during the mid-20th century.
In 1971, the Brandywine River Museum of Art opened in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania in a converted Civil War-era grist mill. The mill (and an additional 8 1/2 acres) was purchased at auction by the newly formed Brandywine Conservancy. Renovations began in 1970 and the museum opened in 1971. The renovation was done by James R. Grieves Associates, Inc. of Baltimore. Grieves was the only professional consulted who wanted to keep the 19th structure intact. Other architects recommended tearing it down and starting over. The museum exhibits Wyeth and American art, with galleries devoted to the works of N.C., Andrew, and Jamie Wyeth.
In 1976, Lowell Heritage State Park was established in Lowell, Massachusetts. In 1978, the United States Congress established Lowell National Historical Park and the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission. The legislation to create the park was sponsored by United States Senator and Lowell native Paul Tsongas. The restoration gathered momentum in the 1980s, including the renovation of the canals and former mill facilities into museums, as well as the construction of a waterfront walkway.
During the 1980s, with the example of Lowell's National Historic Park coming into fruition, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts established a series of Heritage State Parks throughout the state to celebrate and preserve the state's valuable historic (mostly industrial) history. Lawrence Heritage State Park, which occupies a former mill boardinghouse in the city's industrial canal district, is an excellent example.
In 1999, the former Arnold Print Works mills in North Adams, Massachusetts was converted into the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMOCA).
Not all historic mills can be successfully transformed into museums however, only with the few, most significantly historic ones has this been possible.
Since most mills were initially zoned as "industrial" with the emergence of zoning ordinances during the mid- and late 20th century, an early obstacle of many planners and developers in transforming these vacant or underutilized mill spaces into residences was to convince local officials that the usefulness of the mills for continuing industry was limited. Business practices were changing, and the old mill buildings were no longer efficient or practical for industry. Even today, most jurisdictions require some sort of special permit or zoning change in order for the conversions to take place.
One of the earliest known conversions of a historic textile mill into residential apartments is the Valley Falls Company south mill located in Central Falls, Rhode Island. This project was completed in 1979, and now includes 133 units of elderly housing. [1]
Other mill conversion projects during the 1980s include the Border City Mill Apartments in Fall River, Massachusetts, situated in a historic 1870s brick cotton mill.
The huge Massachusetts Mills in Lowell, Massachusetts were converted into a 445-unit apartment complex beginning in 1990, while the nearby Market Mills Apartments have 230 units. In recent years, with Massachusetts historic tax credit program, the Boott Mills and Lawrence Mills have been converted into residences also, as part of Lowell's continued revitalization of its historic waterfront area.
Mill conversions have also occurred in other parts of the United States, such as the Cotton Mill Condos in New Orleans, completed in 1997.
In recent years, there has been a trend toward the loft style apartment or condominium unit, with high ceilings, exposed bricks, tall windows, wood floors, and exposed beams or structural elements.
One of the most ambitious mill conversion projects in recent years is the transformation of the huge Wood Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Built in 1906, it was the largest textile mill in the world at the time. The project is known as Monarch on the Merrimack.
Concurrent with the move to restore former industrial mills into residences, has been the conversion of certain sites into a mix of retail shops, offices and restaurants and other non-industrial uses. During the 1980s, many of the historic cotton mills in Fall River, Massachusetts were converted into factory outlet stores, although with minimal physical alteration other than some partitions and carpeting. The factory outlet stores in Fall River were highly successful for many years, but have in recent years declined, a victim of newer "premium outlet" malls opening up in nearby suburban areas such as Wrentham, Massachusetts, and others.
One excellent example of a mill to mixed-use conversion in New England is the Clocktower Place, located in the small town of Maynard, Massachusetts. The huge mill complex was originally the Assabet Manufacturing Company, which grew during the 19th century to be one of the largest textile companies in the state, specializing in woolen goods. It was later acquired by the American Woolen Company, and later, by Digital Equipment Corporation, until it finally vacated the location in 2001. Since then, the entire complex has been transformed into an office park. It is now home to many companies in differing markets. Its most famous tenant is perhaps Monster.com.
The largest mill to mixed-use conversion in New England however, can be found at Manchester, New Hampshire, with the successful renovation and conversion of the Amoskeag Millyard, once the largest single textile company in the world. The Amoskeag Millyard is the centerpiece of Manchester's waterfront, and includes offices, restaurants, a museum, residences and a university. [2]
Often, parking, utilities and other infrastructure need to be upgraded as part of the mill conversion process. Many of the old industrial sites contain levels of contamination, which can be very costly for the developers to mitigate.
In recent years, many states have enacted Historic Tax Credit programs in an attempt to enable the rehabilitation of older structures deemed to be "historically significant". Typically, the major criteria for this determination is a listing with the National Register of Historic Places, usually followed by a review by state and local agencies. The development companies typically utilize the tax credits to offset the usually expensive process of renovation and site cleanup.
An example of a Mill conversion utilized by the use of a state historic tax program is the Royal Mills in West Warwick, Rhode Island, redeveloped by SBER a Baltimore-based company with a long history of historic preservation projects. This mill had sat vacant for many years, and was in serious threat of being demolished. The site has since successfully been converted into residential apartments, situated on the Pawtuxet River with a walking trail and bike path nearby.
While recently suspended due to the State's budget crisis, Rhode Island's Historic Tax Credit Program was deemed as one of the most successful in the nation, enabling hundreds of historic structures across the state to be preserved over the past several years since it was enacted.
The benefits historic tax credit programs to state budgets have been often controversial, but there are many indirect economic benefits to local communities. [3]
The property tax value of a restored mill it typically about ten times greater than the existing underutilized mill building, and there is also the added benefit of many construction jobs and other services during the renovation process. The intangible value of having a historic factory building preserved for future generations to enjoy, as well as the benefits to the community are often harder to calculate. The restored mill buildings often become the focal point of the community.
Lowell is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of the last census, and the third most populous in the Boston metropolitan statistical area. The city also is part of a smaller Massachusetts statistical area, called Greater Lowell, and of New England's Merrimack Valley region.
Lowell National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of the United States located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Established in 1978 a few years after Lowell Heritage State Park, it is operated by the National Park Service and comprises a group of different sites in and around the city of Lowell related to the era of textile manufacturing in the city during the Industrial Revolution. In 2019, the park was included as Massachusetts' representative in the America the Beautiful Quarters series.
A three-decker, triple-decker triplex or stacked triplex, in the United States, is a three-story (triplex) apartment building. These buildings are typically of light-framed, wood construction, where each floor usually consists of a single apartment, and frequently, originally, extended families lived in two, or all three floors. Both stand-alone and semi-detached versions are common.
Wamsutta Mills is a former textile manufacturing company and current brand for bedding and other household products. Founded by Thomas Bennett, Jr. on the banks of the Acushnet River in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1846 and opened in 1848, Wamsutta Mills was named after Wamsutta, the son of a Native American chief who negotiated an early alliance with the English settlers of the Plymouth Colony. It was the first of many textile mills in New Bedford, and gradually led to cotton textile manufacturing overtaking whaling as the town's principal industry by the 1870s.
The Nashua Manufacturing Company was a cotton textile manufacturer in Nashua, New Hampshire that operated from 1823 to 1945. It was one of several textile companies that helped create what became the city of Nashua, creating roads, churches and its own bank as part of the process. Like most New England textile mills it struggled during the Depression. It shut after World War II, when much of the industry had moved South for cheaper labor and land.
The Boston Manufacturing Company was a business that operated one of the first factories in America. It was organized in 1813 by Francis Cabot Lowell, a wealthy Boston merchant, in partnership with a group of investors later known as The Boston Associates, for the manufacture of cotton textiles. It built the first integrated spinning and weaving factory in the world at Waltham, Massachusetts, using water power. They used plans for a power loom that he smuggled out of England as well as trade secrets from the earlier horse-powered Beverly Cotton Manufactory, of Beverly, Massachusetts, of 1788. This was the largest factory in the U.S., with a workforce of about 300. It was a very efficient, highly profitable mill that, with the aid of the Tariff of 1816, competed effectively with British textiles at a time when many smaller operations were being forced out of business. While the Rhode Island System that followed was famously employed by Samuel Slater, the Boston Associates improved upon it with the "Waltham System". The idea was successfully copied at Lowell, Massachusetts, and elsewhere in New England. Many rural towns now had their own textile mills.
The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was a textile manufacturer which founded Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. From modest beginnings it grew throughout the 19th century into the largest cotton textile plant in the world. At its peak, Amoskeag had 17,000 employees and around 30 buildings.
The history of Lowell, Massachusetts, is closely tied to its location along the Pawtucket Falls of the Merrimack River, from being an important fishing ground for the Pennacook tribe to providing water power for the factories that formed the basis of the city's economy for a century. The city of Lowell was started in the 1820s as a money-making venture and social project referred to as "The Lowell Experiment", and quickly became the United States' largest textile center. However, within approximately a century, the decline and collapse of that industry in New England placed the city into a deep recession. Lowell's "rebirth", partially tied to Lowell National Historical Park, has made it a model for other former industrial towns, although the city continues to struggle with deindustrialization and suburbanization.
The Bates Mill is a textile factory company founded in 1850 and located at 35 Canal Street in Lewiston, Maine. The mill served as Maine's largest employer through the 1860s, and early profits from the mill provided much of the initial capital for nearby Bates College. Currently, the mill buildings are home to several new businesses, apartments, and a small museum.
The Bourne Mill is an historic textile mill on the border between Tiverton, Rhode Island and Fall River, Massachusetts.
The Royal Mill Complex is an historic textile mill site at 125 Providence Street in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The mill complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. It has recently been completely renovated and remodeled into 250 residential apartments. The complex also includes the Ace Dye Works mill on the south side of the river, which has been converted into lofts. A pedestrian skybridge connects the two mills.
Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates was an American textile company, founded in 1889 as Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company in Adams, Massachusetts in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
For much of its history, the city of Fall River, Massachusetts has been defined by the rise and fall of its cotton textile industry. From its beginnings as a rural outpost of the Plymouth Colony, the city grew to become the largest textile producing center in the United States during the 19th century, with over one hundred mills in operation by 1920. Even with the demise of local textile productions during the 20th century, there remains a lasting legacy of its impact on the city.
The Valley Falls Company was founded in 1839 by Oliver Chace, in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, a historic mill village on both sides of the Blackstone River, within the modern-day town of Cumberland and city of Central Falls, Rhode Island. The Valley Falls Company is the original antecedent of Berkshire Hathaway, currently one of the world's largest and most successful companies.
The Boott Mills in Lowell, Massachusetts were a part of an extensive group of cotton mills, built in 1835 alongside a power canal system in this important cotton town. It's incorporators were Abbott Lawrence, Nathan Appleton, and John Amory Lowell, and is named after Kirk Boott, the first Agent of the Proprietors of Locks & Canals in Lowell. Today, the Boott Mills complex is the most complete remainder of antebellum textile mills built in Lowell. The original Mill No. 6 is managed by the National Park Service unit Lowell National Historical Park and houses the Boott Cotton Mills Museum and the Tsongas Industrial History Center for K-12 educational programs.
The Crescent Warehouse Historic District is a 10.5-acre (4.2 ha) historic district in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district is a collection of multi-story brick structures that formerly housed warehouses and factories. Most of the buildings have been converted into loft apartments. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
The Saco-Lowell Shops was once one of the largest textile machine manufacturers in the United States. It was formed in 1912 with a merger between the Lowell Machine Shop with the Saco-Pettee Machine Company. At its peak in the 1920s, the company had manufacturing facilities in Lowell and Newton, Massachusetts, and Biddeford, Maine. The company maintained their executive office at 77 Franklin Street in Boston, and also had a southern office in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Lymansville Company Mill is a historic industrial complex at 184 Woonasquatucket Avenue in North Providence, Rhode Island. The oldest portion of the complex, a three-story brick building which originally a textile spinning and carding building, was built in 1884. The mill was significantly expanded in subsequent years, with its last addition taking place in 1951. The Lymansville Company was founded in 1884 and closed in 1957. Auguste Albert Sack, the leading partner in the company, was a German immigrant with significant work experience in New England's textile industry.
The Heaton and Cowing Mill is a historic industrial facility at 1115 Douglas Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island. The small mill complex consists of three connected building sections; the oldest is a c. 1832 rubble-walled two story mill building constructed by David Heaton and Martin Cowing on the banks of the West River. The partners used the facility to manufacture and dye cotton cloth. The building is the remnant of a much larger Geneva Worsted Company works that Heaton and Cowing built on the site in the 1860s and 1870s.
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The park was created for the purpose of preserving, protecting, and interpreting the industrial heritage of the Blackstone River Valley and the urban, rural, and agricultural landscape of that region. The Blackstone River Valley was the site of some of the earliest successful textile mills in the United States, and these mills contributed significantly to the earliest American Industrial Revolution. The subsequent construction of the Blackstone Canal, a few years after the successful completion of the Erie Canal, helped to sustain the region's industrial strength.