Despite the real estate slumpor perhaps because of itfactory-to-residential conversions are on the rise statewide.

New Jersey has long had more than its share of industrial eyesores, from bleak factories to sprawling warehouses. These days, those gritty, lifeless structures are giving way to hip and happening residential complexes. The trend started a few years back in Camden, Newark, and Hoboken, and now is leaving its mark on Jersey City and Trenton.Developers say adaptive reuses of industrial buildingsor simply, conversionsare attractive for several reasons. One is affordability. Where else can you get something nice for $200,000?” asks Michael Goldstein, a principal in HHG Development Associates in Trenton, whose successful conversions include the Cracker Factory in Trenton. The price point here is similar to what you can purchase in a twenty-year-old ‘purpose-built’ plain vanilla condominium.” Which leads to another reason: What we’re selling are breathtakingly beautiful, architecturally interesting apartments in a real community,” Goldstein says. These are incredible design-forward spaces.”

Architect John Hatch, of the Trenton firm Clarke Caton Hintz, echoes this sentiment. There’s a great stock of interesting but run-down and empty buildings in every city in the state,” says Hatch, who teamed with Goldstein, along with third partner David Henderson, to ride the urban reuse wave in Trenton. There’s a renewed interest among home buyers for a denser urban center,” he says. The people who are buying are sometimes first-home buyers, but certainly not always. The common thread is that they’re people who are looking for an interesting space at a good price in a walkable community.”

On these pages we look at three standouts among the many noteworthy conversions.

Dixon Mills, Jersey City

Perhaps the most residential-looking of the state’s industrial conversions, this former factory consists of five meandering, interlocking buildings with multiple courtyards and a cobblestone street running down the middle. Originally built in 1847, Dixon Mills manufactured a variety of products, including the ubiquitous yellow No. 2 pencil.

Manufacturing ended long ago, and the original conversion to rental apartments took place in the 1980s. The new developerthe Robert Martin

Company of Westchester, New Yorkis currently completing the conversion to condominiums, and has restored many of the original architectural details of the Romanesque-Revival-style buildings. Units have period brickwork, wrought-iron railings, high ceilings, and large windows; no two layouts are the same. Prices range from $250,00 to $750,000.

Located near restaurants and boutique shopping, Dixon Mills is attracting an eclectic mix of residents. Juan and Jaime Gali moved to Dixon Mills in February 2008 while expecting their first child. They had burned out on the hustle and expense of city life but wanted to keep their jobs in

Manhattan. It was the diversity of the residents, says Juan, that first drew them to Dixon Mills, followed by price and location. They immediately fit in. There are a lot of young families here, a lot of people just having kids,” he says. We met people immediately, more than we ever did living anywhere else.”

Canco Lofts, Jersey City

Conversion is almost complete at the former American Can Company factory, once the world’s largest producer of metal cans, including the first beer can. Here, loft spaces have panoramic windows and original slab ceilingsoften with exposed pipes and structural holes where assembly-line equipment was hung. Some ceilings are as high as 14 feet.

Manhattan-based developer Coalco calls the undertaking an innovative rehabilitation project.” It includes 500 units ranging from 648 square feet to 1,663 square feet, with prices running from about $350,000 to $850,000. According to Marco Tartaglia, sales and marketing manager of the building, more than 45 percent of the converted units sold immediately upon offering.

Canco Lofts is the first revitalized industrial site on Jersey City’s long-neglected West Side. The project will eventually feature a ground floor of retail shops. Planned amenities within the building include a 10,000-square-foot residents club with a fitness facility, game room, screening room, outdoor bamboo garden, and children’s play room. More than two-thirds of the new residents are under 40, reports Tartaglia. There are couples in the mix, but the majority are single.

The Cracker Factory, Trenton

Almost ready for tenants, this South Trenton project is part of an overhaul of the gritty Ferry Historic District, dubbed Trenton Ferry. The Cracker

Factorybirthplace of the oyster crackerwas built in 1847. It has undergone an extensive restoration to return it to its glory as a stately building with beautiful wood detailing and multicolored brick corbeling.

Of the eighteen units, fourteen are spoken for. Prices start at $129,000; $281,250 buys a two-bedroom, three-bath unit with a balcony, 12-foot ceilings, and seven enormous windows in the living/dining area. In converting the site, HHG Development placed a premium on energy efficiency and sustainable-design features, reusing whatever materials they could salvage.

Industrial buildings are mainly used for manufacture & warehousing, offices, showrooms, sport, retailing, agricultural and horticultural buildings, recreation & leisure, swimming pool enclosures as well as many other aspects. If your business is in need of extra space; whether it is for storage or to conduct aspects of business, an industrial building, such as a warehouse may be the answer that your business is looking for.

Industrial buildings, such as the ones named above are available from many different building contractor teams and they are often available as both a permanent or temporary business solution. You may need the use of an industrial building as a way of housing certain equipment and supplies as well as providing you with a space that can be dedicated for you to undertake aspects of business. Depending on what you need the industrial building for depends on what type of building you have constructed. If you need the extra space as a place where people can do business then a more permanent structure may be in order.

Many of the industrial buildings that are open to you to use for your business provide you with a comfortable working environment and in many cases reduce energy through the quality and reliability which can be achieved with high performance insulation solutions. Also by choosing a reliable building contractor team to install your industrial building you will be getting a workspace which creates a clean environment for all of your production, storage, material handling and infrastructure needs. Many building contractor teams will design your industrial buildings using cladding and lining and will incorporate windows and doors that in some cases are double glazed as well as being tough when it comes to security. You will be able to decide what features are and aren’t included on your industrial building, meaning from the start you will know exactly what you are buying.

When deciding on including an industrial building into your workplace you need to ensure that the execution of the project is successful. One way of making sure that this happens is by conducting effective planning as this is essential to ensure that you get what you want from your industrial building. During your planning for your industrial building you should consider aspects such as the environmental impact of the job, the success of the scheduling, budgeting and site safety as well as the availability of materials, logistics and the inconvenience to the public caused by construction delays, preparing tender documents, etc.