Archi-types Bangor couple transform a vacant building into a modern classic

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It remained standing while a devastating fire leveled everything else on the block. It tolerated 35 vacant, leaky years. It even survived urban renewal. But by 2000, it was clear that the tall, skinny building on Columbia Street in Bangor had seen better days.

The floors were stained black and buckled. Water was pouring in through the roof, and it had damaged the pressed-tin ceilings on the second and third floors of the four-story structure. Oh, and it was going to cost $150,000 to fix the elevator.

Some people would’ve seen it as a money pit. But Ken Schiano and Paula Beall saw a home for themselves and their business.

Leave it to a pair of architects.

“We were just enthralled by the quality of the space that we could see through the storefront windows,” Beall said during a recent tour of the building, which houses their firm, QA 13 Architects, Schiano’s painting studio, a rental apartment and their two-story living quarters.

Schiano, a native New Yorker, and Beall, who hails from Washington, D.C., had moved to Eastport from Manhattan in 1985. After 16 years of restoring houses on the brink of condemnation in rural Maine, they were ready for a change. It came in the form of a brick building with arched windows and a distinctly urban feel.

“When we saw this building, we said, ‘Oh, a New York City loft building in Bangor. That’s the one,'” Beall said.

The structure is the only remaining portion of the Coe Block, built as a warehouse in 1907 by Dr. T.U. Coe and designed by the architect Wilfred E. Mansur. According to architectural historian Deborah Thompson of Bangor, it was planned in relation to the Columbia Building across the street, which now houses the Vault Cafe, but its design was more unified.

Though a 1925 blaze decimated the rest of the block, the narrow portion that housed offices on the building’s far left remained intact because of a firewall.

“It was just like a little tank,” Thompson said.

It’s a vestige of one of the city’s most gracious neighborhoods, which once was home to City Hall, along with the Columbia Street Baptist Church and several other elegant buildings.

“Everyone on that street at that moment was making efforts to turn that block into a splendid design,” Thompson said.

Today, nearly a century later, Schiano and Beall have the same goal: splendid design.

Though the building had fallen into disrepair since the days when lumber baron John Cassidy had offices there, it was structurally sound. Prior projects gave them the confidence and skills necessary to undertake the renovation, and their background in architecture gave them the insight to turn this old warehouse into a comfortable home.

“We brought the shell of the space back to what it originally was then we started playing with it architecturally,” Schiano said. “Wherever we could, [we played] with keeping certain elements of the building intact while at the same time gently adapting it to our needs.”

The hardwood floors and maple stair treads, tin ceilings and arched windows are among the elements that drew the couple to the building. They’re a foil for the couple’s minimal, sleek aesthetic.

“We tried to play some of the materials that were here off this modern vocabulary we were dealing with,” Beall said.

That modern vocabulary includes a cook’s dream kitchen – banks of maple (handmade) and stainless (IKEA) steel cabinets, gleaming black and stainless appliances, black granite countertops and the room’s centerpiece – a huge wooden table from Beall’s bread-baking days in Eastport.

“We call it our party kitchen,” Schiano said.

The couple’s cats, all six of them, get to party on a raised platform at the back of the third floor. They’ve built an enormous scratching post and cozy window seats and hidden litter boxes under the platform.

“Basically, we built everything for the cats,” Schiano said, laughing.

The parts they built for humans are equally intriguing. Since it was going to cost in the six figures to get the elevator up and running, they decided to turn the shaft into a series of bathrooms. On the third floor, the “In Use” button glows red when the bathroom lights are turned on. Honed stone tile, an earthenware sink crafted by a potter friend, steel mesh shower curtains and a custom-fabricated stainless vanity balance warm lines with cool, industrial chic.

Though the elevator bathrooms are fabulous, they’re also functional – the couple wanted to keep the floor plan as open as possible, and bathrooms, closets and storage space would have cluttered the space. The couple integrated handmade maple cabinets, bookshelves and cubbies into the design so seamlessly that a visitor would scarcely notice them. There’s a place for everything, and everything’s in its place.

Platforms in their living area serve multiple purposes – to separate “rooms” without the barrier of a wall, to disguise cat litter boxes and any other would-be clutter, and to raise the floor level.

“The windows are so tall that we thought it would be nice to almost literally stand in the window,” Schiano said, gazing out over the rooftops of Bangor from the couple’s bedroom. “After a while, being on the floor level can be a little bit boring.”

There’s nothing boring about this building. Each turn reveals a little surprise, a smart, quirky touch such as the ship’s ladder that leads to the rooftop deck and the “bath room.” In the elevator’s former machine room, lush plants drape down the corrugated steel walls toward a clawfoot tub – a warm, steamy oasis in an unlikely place. The deck holds pots full of herbs and tomatoes, which is about as much gardening as Beall wants, and it boasts 360-degree views of the Queen City.

“We’re all for fixing up old buildings,” Schiano said as the sun beat down on the rooftop. From there, he could point out other buildings that people had turned into residences.

“And getting more people living and working downtown,” Beall added.

“If you’re wise about what it is you’re doing, it’s still a better deal than buying a new building,” Schiano said.

The problem is, many property owners don’t know how to turn these buildings into livable space, and even people who have romanticized ideas about loft living can have a hard time using space wisely and choosing a property that is worth renovating. That’s where it helps to hire (or be) an architect.

“I don’t think just anybody off the street can take on these projects without professional help and I don’t mean just a contractor,” Schiano said.

“If you go ahead with your plans and purchase the building, remain flexible and open-minded,” Schiano recommends. “Architects are trained to prioritize design solutions that require the minimum of resources while addressing many issues simultaneously.”

Like a translucent plastic closet that doubles as an oversize light fixture, or a floor platform that conceals a litter box, or a bathroom in shades of aqua and electric margarita-green “to keep you happy when winter comes.” Or a retro trailer on the roof that could be used as an in-law apartment. That idea hasn’t quite come to fruition, and it may never happen, but it goes to show a little creativity can go a long way toward creating a dream house.

“We love it,” Schiano said. “All in all, it’s a pretty special place for us. I don’t know if we’d ever find anything like this anywhere else.”

Kristen Andresen can be reached at 990-8287 and kandresen@bangordailynews.net.