At Home in History

When Tim Birky moved to Indianapolis from Cleveland, he loved the rich architecture and vibrancy of the Mass Ave cultural district and was thrilled when he found those same features in the historic lofts at Circa.

“I think it’s a really unique opportunity to have this much history and character in a rental home,” said Birky.

He’s one of the first residents to move into the historic lofts in the original Mitchel & Scott Machine Company headquarters. The lofts were once offices, and still feature the original plaster and brick walls, concrete floors, high ceilings and wood beams. Four of the five have semi-private outdoor patios.

The lofts range in size from 600 to 1,100 square feet. One also includes the original, manual elevator and provides a great breakfast or office nook with a view of the pool. “It is a great little, tucked away location that can serve a variety of uses,” said Jake Dietrich, director of development, Milhaus. “We also utilized old garage doors that now serve as pocket bedroom doors.”

While retaining the character of the space, new energy efficient windows were added, but kept the same style of the original ones. There is a green roof between the balconies that is self-sustainable.

The name Circa was chosen because it speaks to the historic context of the district and the building. The property is on College Avenue, just south of Mass Ave and also includes studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in new buildings as well. The old headquarters building also houses, the leasing office and amenity center. Materials from the original factory were repurposed such as metal siding from a shed that is now wall coverings and beams reused to create resident mailboxes and a large conversation table in the urban lounge. There are also one-of-a-kind sculptures from Nick Allman and Kipp Normand incorporating materials from the original headquarters of the tool and die company, which opened in 1933 and moved to a new location nearly 80 years later.

Birky enjoys the flexibility of his new space and his home as his office. Below are pictures taken by Tessa Tillett Photography.

For more information about the lofts, visit liveatcirca.com.