The last keg to roll out of the original Cave Brewery—more commonly known as Schmidt Brewery—was filled with Grain Belt and Pig’s Eye brew. But that was 2002. Since then, the brewery that once was home to the Stahlmann, North Star, Pfeiffer, Jacob Schmidt and Landmark brands had sat vacant, save for a failed stint as an ethanol processing plant. Schmidt Brewery needed newness. It needed a vision. It turns out the Schmidt Brewery needed artists.

A 16-acre redevelopment of the property created 247 artist lofts, each with an individual layout and personality, opening up to communal spaces and gathering areas. Architects embraced the building’s architectural history with its crenelated towers and Gothic detailing, making it a perfect marriage to the new Schmidt Artist Lofts in St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood, an eclectic area with blue-collar roots. The four-story building embraces its brewery history, with lofts created in both the former brew house and bottle house, helping to define the character of each. Individual lofts come with plenty of contemporary materials and finishes, including skylights where available to go with the exposed brick and variety of historic finishes. Throughout the property, residents can find studios for yoga, dance, pottery, performance and other artistic disciplines.

Architecturally the new lofts take advantage of the building’s natural light with high ceilings, while welcoming the building’s existing character. Using Lynden Door’s ClearLine residential door gave this project plenty of simple ruggedness in an affordable and environmentally friendly model that merges with the area’s focus on sustainability. The rotary white maple doors accentuate natural wood, enhanced with an architectural grade UV-cured transparent urethane finish that releases no VOCs into each of these stylistic lofts.

Sustainability without style wouldn’t have worked for the Schmidt Artist Lofts, as every lease requires that one member of the household must demonstrate a commitment to art forms in order to qualify for residency. Schmidt Artist Lofts has helped create a community of artists locating where there was otherwise no community, where there was no art.