Crowd gets sneak peek at Prattville's $37 million 'gin shop' project

PRATTVILLE - It was a chilly night in Prattville to get a sneak peak at some of the hottest real estate in town.

About 200 people attended the Nov. 17 event at The Mill at Prattville. Envolve Communities is building 127 loft-style apartments in the five historic masonry structures of downtown’s iconic landmark.

Known to locals as “The Gin Shop,” the buildings at the foot of Main Street, along the banks of Autauga Creek, are why Prattville is here. Daniel Pratt founded the town that now bears his name in 1839. He picked the fall line of the creek to power his industrial empire, which began making cotton gins, and to support his town. He also added a cotton spinning plant, lumberyard, foundry and other industries on the site.

“So many people worked here over so many years,” Johnson said. “The Gin Shop supported so many families. They’ve saved our history.”

Pratt was a New England Yankee and his town reflects his heritage. Most Southern towns founded in the early 19th century were built around the courthouse square concept. Pratt made the industrial area the centerpiece of Prattville.

“No other city has this; these buildings, these views,” said Kea Calame, senior vice president of asset management for Envolve. She’s shepherded the project since its start in 2015. The oldest building onsite goes back to 1848, with the “newest” building being constructed in 1912.

On this night several large-screen televisions played behind Calame, showing images of the construction process and shots of downtown.

“You can see we are marketing downtown Prattville as part of the attraction,” she said. “We want to complement downtown and be part of downtown, and downtown’s future."

The $37 million project is more than just another apartment build, much more. It’s being credited for saving a large chunk of the city’s history and kicking off another round of downtown revitalization.

Several generations of retired Autauga County Sheriff Herbie Johnson’s family worked, proudly, at the Gin Shop. As a young man, before beginning a decades-long career in law enforcement, Johnson lost the tip of a finger in a mishap while working on the floor of the Gin Shop.

“I never thought I would see anything like this, not in these old buildings,” Johnson said, looking around a three-bedroom apartment offering chamber of commerce views of the mill pond and the mill pond dam.

Johnson’s father, Woodrow, known as “Daddy Bo,” designed the wooden flood gates of the dam.

That history takes center stage in the construction of the apartments. There’s plenty of exposed brick. The wooden beams, floors and joists have been cleaned, but remain as key architectural features.

And the windows, man, the windows. The windows, numbering in the thousands over the site, were saved and reworked to exacting historical standards. In their industrial lives they offered lighting and ventilation. Now they offer spectacular views.

That’s what sold Julie Cooley. She and her husband, Casey, became the ninth leasors in the 1912 building. They picked a three-bedroom corner apartment on the third floor. It offers, you guessed it, a stunning view of the mill pond and dam.

“I can’t believe I will be laying in bed and this is my view for the rest of my life,” she said.

Casey Cooley is a colonel in the U.S.A.F Reserves. His military career has taken them through Prattville four times. Casey Cooley still has five or so years to go before retirement.

“We always knew we wanted to come back to Prattville,” Julie said. “When this came up, we couldn’t resist. He’s a history nerd and I’m an architecture nerd. So, it’s perfect for the two Prattville nerds.”

The Cooleys still have a bit to wait. There’s a little work left to do in the 1912 building to button up the apartments. People should be able to move in starting in February.

The buildings themselves may be historic, but the apartments will offer modern conveniences. There are quartz countertops. The 1912 building offers first floor common area with fitness room, mailboxes, a package delivery room and a kitchen, of all things.

“In case you invite 20 people over and need a little more room,” said Ashley Stoddart, community manager, as she led a tour.

Envolve, formerly LEDIC Realty, originally planned on building about 150 apartments on the property. The lower number reflects design changes, Calame said.

“We went with what the buildings gave us,” she said.

Each apartment is “like a snowflake,” said Kate Musgrove, outreach ambassador. The project offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments

“No two are alike,” she said. “If you want a one bedroom, you still need to take a tour and look at what we offer, because each apartment is different.”

Outside, the industrial heart of the complex is preserved. Steel beams that once supported roofs remain, soaring over walkways and parking areas. The project was designed to be pedestrian friendly, with easy access to downtown shops and eateries.

That massive heart beat for well over a century. At its peak the Gin Shop was the largest cotton gin factory in the world. During World War II it made 5-inch gun mounts for the Navy and casings for 250-pound bombs. Recently found files also show that it built high pressure steam and water pipes for the Manhattan Project, the massive nationwide effort to build the atomic bombs.

Local production ceased in 2012 when Continental Eagle shipped the work overseas.

The Historic Prattville Redevelopment Authority bought the sprawling site during as mortgage foreclosure sale on the grounds of the Autauga County Courthouse for $1.7 million on Dec. 18, 2014.

The preservation group began to market the property almost immediately.

The fear among Prattvillians who loved history was that these handmade brick and heart pine beams, timber and joists would leave the city on the backs of flatbed trucks; that Prattville’s history would be exiled piecemeal to projects in New Orleans. Savannah. Charleston.

“That wasn’t going to happen,” said Mayor Bill Gillespie Jr. “That’s why this project is so important. It saved why Prattville is Prattville.”

The effort took longer than anticipated. Unforeseen delays cropped up. The historical nature of the project was complex, requiring levels of red tape and approval from alphabet soup agencies at the state and federal level.

And the pandemic.

Gillespie said Nov. 17 that he never doubted the project would be successful.

“There was such a grass-roots level of support,” he said. “You had people like Tom Newton at HPRA who never gave up. There were times when we had to agree to disagree. There were times when you could tell something seemed to be directing things.

“That's why I never doubted we would get here. It was too important.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Crowd gets sneak peek at Prattville's $37 million 'gin shop' project