Editor’s note: This story originally ran March 27, 2021. It’s part of Business Editor Tyler Strong’s Fave Five of 2021, highlighting some of his early stories readers may have missed. Some of the information in this story is out of date, as the renovations have been completed. Read more here.
It took more than a year and countless hours of work, but the former handkerchief factory located at 943 Ellis St. has been fully renovated into 12 loft apartments.
Known by many as the site of the “Augusta, I Love You” mural, painted by local artist, Leonard “Porkchop” Zimmerman, the building has been transformed over the last year into modern living spaces, highlighted by colorful stained glass windows.
Mark Donahue of Peach Contractors took on the project, one of many historical renovations he’s completed. Just across the street, he took the old Lowrey Wagon Works building and made it into 19 apartments a few years ago.
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That building, built in 1860, was used as a shoe factory in the Civil War, then as a school for African-American children, then a warehouse for J.B. White, according to an informational plaque within the building. The renovation netted Donahue an Excellence in Rehabilitation Award from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in 2016.
The handkerchief factory building, built in 1939, is all steel and concrete, a departure from Donahue’s usual work with more brick and wood buildings. Their work is nearly done, and Donahue’s team is just putting on the finishing touches at this time.
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The apartments are wide open lofts, blank canvases for tenants to organize as they see fit. They’re all outfitted with unique stained glass windows, some of which were intact, and some were damaged that Donahue’s team had to replace.
Each unit also contains a washer and dryer, as well as brand new kitchen appliances. Donahue also talked up the AT&T fiber in the building, saying the connection is “extremely fast.”
There are four units on each floor, with the two on the ends of each floor being slightly bigger than the ones in the middle, which is baked into the price point. Donahue’s daughter, Chloe, and Michele Meehan work on the listing process of the apartments. Chloe lives in the Lowrey Wagon Works building across the street.
“People like my dad working on buildings and people like Porkchop doing murals, it’s more room for people to live downtown and in more developed, well-lit areas,” Chloe Donahue said. “We’ve been short on apartments downtown for years. COVID-19 hit developers hard and it delayed our project some but we got it done.”
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Between the Lowrey building and other apartments Mark Donahue has renovated, he said that “98% of his tenants are blue-collar, professional women.” The renovations on and around Ellis Street have contributed to the safety factor for Chloe and the tenants coming to her about renting one of the Donahue-developed apartments.
“We have a lot of nurses and women working, putting themselves through school, and I can tell them that it’s safe,” Chloe said. “I tell them I’ve personally lived here for two years and never had a problem.”
Taking on an iconic building like the one at 943 Ellis was daunting for them, Chloe said, but with the project nearing completion, everyone involved is proud of the work they’ve done.
“Just being able to watch and help with the process; it’s been an honor to watch my dad and the crew do this and do it well,” Chloe said. “How cool is that? I got to work with my dad on an awesome building that is such a staple in Augusta.”
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The apartments will start at $950 per month, and they should be ready to list by the end of next month.
In terms of if Mark Donahue will continue his work in historical renovations: “I’ve been doing it for 20 years,” he said. “Why stop now?”
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
