The 136-year-old building is about 30,000 square feet. It includes a penthouse and basement, and is assessed at $357,000. The building will be divided into 18 apartments, with a parking garage, a pizza parlor and delicatessen on the first floor.

Architect Walter Parks, who is working on the project with Emerson and Roper, says the the apartments will range from single bedroom to two-story apartments, and will all have fireplaces. They will be studio-type, he says, using the tall ceilings already provided by the building’s original construction.

“The nicest thing is working with the old buildings,” Parks says. “You get a chance to work with material you don’t normally get to work with.”

The restoration is part of a pattern of taking older buildings and developing them for different uses, says Cary Brown, project development manager for the city of Richmond. He hopes the apartments will help draw more retailers to the financial district.

“It’s always better to have people living in part of a city where people are working,” Parks says. “It’s about making the city a better place to be and live. It’s good for everybody and makes the city more vibrant.”

The reconstruction will be completed sometime in April 2003, Emerson says. The first tenants will be able to move in sometime in October, Parks says.

— Sarah Williams