An old gated building turned into an apartment

From 1910 to 2001, Liberty Crest Apartments were known as Lorton’s Prison, Virginia, which housed prisoners from Washington, Colombia County, Virginia.

It was broader known as the place where many Sfragists were kept after Silent Sentinels Pickets in the White House in 1917 and according to The The Congress LibraryNovember 14, 1917 was known as the “Night of Terror” because of how Sfgist prisoners were abused in prison.

The 2,324 acres property, which includes a farm closed in 2001. The following year, Fairfax County bought the site for $ 4.2 million. Under the ownership of the county, the old prison and the grounds became a park, a golf course, three schools and an art center.

In 2008, the county began working with Alexander, a Wisconsin developer with a history of historical storage and adaptive reuse. The developer began to convert the campus into 165 apartments.

“The Reformist Lorton was a good set of buildings that would be turned into residential, as it was a prison from the Reform era,” says David Vos, the head of the Alexander development project, tells CNBC to do so.

“So, unlike most prisons, which tend to be large prints, dark buildings without many windows, they actually had an abundance of light and had a lot of character to them, so they were very good for apartments.”

Liberty Crest’s apartments have 165 units-44 of which are marked with affordable low-income homes. There are 84 apartments with two bedrooms and 81 two -bedroom and monthly rent from $ 1372 to $ 2,700. Each apartment is equipped with a washer per unit and dryer.

The renovation took almost two years and approximately $ 64 million.

Most of the project funding comes from historical tax loans, financing of low-income bonds and tax loans. Virginia dwelling Provided that the first mortgage for the project and payments is about $ 125,000 a month.

The apartments opened in June 2017, and VOS says that all available units were rented in just a few months. The complex has been in full employment since.

“The community response varies a lot. Many people really thought it was important to preserve this story. However, there were people who were really focusing on the shorter years of prison when prisoners were abused,” he says.

“But from our point of view, we really felt that it was important to keep the story so that you could learn from the past so that you would not make these mistakes again in the future.”

Some remnants of the old prison include signs that tell visitors and prisoners how to behave in the property.

“There are a number of reminders as you go around the campus that reminds you of the fact that it was a reformer or a prison,” says BOS.

The name Liberty Crest Apartments is a tribute to the history of the property: “The reason to choose Liberty for the name was that we really thought we were released by these buildings from its recent dark past.”

The coffee of the old prison has been turned into a public space for residents. Other amenities include yoga studio, gym, community pool and two playgrounds.

The campus also has a field with the original tribune, which is made by the prisoners themselves of bricks. Today, the space is used as a universal area for residents.

The Liberty Crest property also has pre -school, dental service, restaurants and retail stores.

The apartments have been open for almost nine years and construction on the property is mostly completed. Currently, VOS and Alexander Company are focused on the conversion of a power plant sitting on the site into 10 additional apartments. There are also plans to transform the former guard neighborhoods.

“The community has accepted the Liberty project very heartily. Everyone is very proud of what we did here and they were very pleased with the results,” says VOS.

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