"loft" condos and Model Railroading

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

The Old Dog must observe that there seems to be a good deal of discussion about layout design on these pages, but not much talk about where to put the layout.

The “loft” apartment/condo is one of the latest fads in real estate. The trend was started mostly by people in the “arts” community. They found that they needed a good deal of space for a studio plus someplace to live. Their solution was to rent space in an old commerial or industrial building in the “low rent” district. Given the departure of manufacturing and retail activity from our cities, large amounts of such space were available. For the landlord it often was the difference between no rent and some income.

For the artist, it meant the availability of a large spaces at a “good” rate. The artist basically got a “big” chuck of rough open space at a “good” rate.

In turn, the artist would normally use an “open” plan. The bathroom amd bedroom might be walled off, but the reast of the space was left open. In other words, the open desigh that is so populafr these days.

But the Old Dog must observe that such a place would be great for a layout.

So the Old Dog is wondering if anyone is doing a layout in a “loft” apartment or Condo? If so, do they have any advice. This would seem to be a “good” choice for someone who wanted to do some modeling yet live “downtown”.

The Old Dog must observe that almost any town of any size has large amounts of empty commerial space downtown. Could this space be ideal for a model railroader who wanted a inexpensive residence and space for a large layout?

Have fun

Maybe the Old Dog needs to fill this out a little more.

Go to almost any village, you will find an empty two of three story general store.

In almost any downtown, you will find empty two or three story buildings. And where the first floor is rented, what about the third and fourth floor?

To get concrete, while this is not "comme

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here in Toronto most ‘lofts’ are actually small (400+ sq feet) condo apartments , they’re just called lofts because thats a trendy sounding name . in fact most of them are new construction ,usually in places where there used to be one or more of the old light industrial spaces you mention . what happens is some developer buys the building , boots out the artists and other bohemian types , tears the building down and builds something with little charactor or style other than the name and sells these tiny apartments for a small fortune and still charges a monthly condo fee . so much for my rant on ‘lofts’ [:)]

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The Old Dog would argue that “new construction” and “loft” are mutually exclusive. It would be really nice to see some devlopers paying heavy fines for false advertising. But that is not likily to happen.

The Dog was just wondering if anyone had tried building a layout in a “true” “loft” type space.

Have fun

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Indeed, ereimer has it right–the latest trend in “lofts” is either heavily reconditioned or new buildings that look vaguely industrial, sold or rented as “lofts.” There’s no firm definition that says a loft has to be an old warehouse, so it’s not really false advertising–and yuppies who want their creature comforts with a fake pall of urban chic will pay premium prices for 'em.

While one technically could buy commercial property and live in it and build a big ol’ model railroad, most cities prohibit using a commercial property as a residence. They’re also not cheap to buy, unless you’re talking about the middle of nowhere.

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Think mucho $$$, lofts are the fad now. There would be plenty of room though.

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A commercial space would be ideal for a club layout, although cost is still an issue. If you can find a suitably disused space, and have a dozen or so friends willing to kick in on rent, then hey, you can buy quite a space…

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There’s a Barnes & Noble near me that moved to a fancy new building. The old building is surrounded on 3 sides by windows. Just this huge, wide open carpeted space.

Every time I drive by I wish I had megabucks so it could be a model railroad / music rehearsal space.

OK, us model railroaders are downright odd - we think the wierdest things about large spaces!

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The trick to the original “classic” lofts is that you’re RENTING the space. The owners of the buildings are generally simply sitting on them. As long as the rent pays the property taxes, they’re happy enough to hold the building until urban renewal comes along, and some developer throws bucket o’ ducats at 'em. Then they sell, and, as noted, the artists, bohemians and other assorted renters are given the bums rush. For a painter, musician, etc, no big deal. A layout, however, usually doesn’t take kindly to eviction…

Lofting is a good ideer if you can lock the space in, either via purchase, or lease with a “if the owner breaks the lease, he pays damages based on the layout relocation costs” clause.

Out here, theres some new “loft” developments going in. They’re all faux, but that’s because we have VERY few of the classic loft warehouse/factory buildings in the first place. What the new lofts have in common is tall ceilings, lotsa windows, and ooooopen floorplans. I’m sure a decorator can be found to put up some brick facing on the inside if ya want it.

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The problem there would be that you are probably in an area that is commeriallly active. If the area sees a good deal of vehiclar “traffic”, there will be demand for the space, hence a high rent.

You would probably want an area with less traffic, and hence a lower rent. The idea is to find thing that few other people want, and hence is inexpensive to buy or rent.

Have fun