Supplying the Restoration of History: TBA Construction Partners with CES for Adaptive Reuse Projects
What do you get when you cross an old textile mill with a rising demand for housing? The answer: a unique piece of rich history, restored and repurposed to accommodate modern loft-style apartments — such as the Lofts at Woodside Mill in Greenville, South Carolina.
Branch Manager Kevin Ramsey has been with City Electric Supply (CES) for nearly 13 years, and 10 of those have been spent working with customer Tradd Bruce, owner of TBA Construction. Through specialized projects like these mills-turned-apartments, the two businesses have grown and learned a lot together.
The mill connection
“Since my business started in 1993, we’ve done a lot of adaptive reuse work — turning old hospitals, schools, textile mills, and other large buildings into multifamily-type projects,” explained Bruce. “We were brought in to bid on the Lofts at Woodside Mill project based on our experience with similar buildings.”
It wouldn’t be the first (or last) mill adaptation project that Ramsey and CES Spartanburg would help him with, but it would be one of the largest. The 300-unit apartment building in the making was quite the sight to take in.
“I remember being mind-blown by how big the textile mill was,” remarked Ramsey.
Learning curve
Modernizing a century-old building is, as some might say, a whole different animal from new construction. It takes experience and specialized knowledge to conduct updates to structures of this age. In addition to electric work, TBA Construction offers plumbing services, expanding their expertise further.
“We had a big learning curve back in the day when we first started working on these types of projects. The old textile mills have such a heavy construction that you really don’t see anymore,” said Bruce. Take, for example, the floors: “Five-and-a-half inch thick spline wood, saturated from textile equipment, with two or three layers of hardwood planks — and in this particular case, there was another 3-inch concrete slab on top of that. It’s very hard on equipment to drill holes through that.”
With a 300-unit building and 10 holes per unit, the need for high-quality tools and materials — and a trusted supplier — is essential.
“It’s a specialty market, so we really learned what materials were needed at the same time Tradd and his team did,” said Ramsey. As the job’s requirements changed, Ramsey sourced different materials and now keeps them in stock for these projects.
Building lofts, building relationships
The working relationship between Ramsey and Bruce has been cemented through projects like this one.
“Kevin essentially grew with us. He’s always been our key salesperson, even when he moved branches. As our projects got bigger, so did his orders, and his team members at CES do a really great job,” said Bruce.
For the Lofts at Woodside Mill, CES Spartanburg supplied a variety of materials.
“We provided all the switchgear and Legrand devices, plus lots of CME Cable, feeders, F4P wire nuts and fasteners, aluminum wiring, and other miscellaneous materials,” said Ramsey. “You never know what you’re going to need with these old buildings, but we’ll do whatever we have to in order to get the material.”
The history between the two businesses has resulted in supreme efficiency and trust.
“It’s nice to have a supplier who’s nearby and knows how we operate. We don’t ever have to worry about price negotiation; CES always gives us a fair market price. When we put stuff out for bid, CES is consistently at the top,” shared Bruce.
Words from the wise
As expected, all the lessons learned during these specialty projects have resulted in sage advice from both Ramsey and Bruce — on both sides of the project.
Bruce warns against overzealous schedules. “Old mill work is very time-consuming and labor-intensive, especially compared to new construction. You can’t apply the same timelines and resources. This work can require up to twice the manpower as a new construction project.”
Ramsey has advice for suppliers, too. “When you’re dealing with a whole new type of project, listen to your contractors. They know what they need. They’re out there on the job site, learning what works and what doesn’t. You can’t give answers if you’re not listening to the situation.”
Enjoying the legacy
There’s a special satisfaction that comes with finishing a historic adaptive reuse project like Lofts at Woodside Mill — and even some intersection with personal life.
“My daughter lives in another repurposed mill that we worked on. It’s really neat because, as a supplier, I don’t usually get to see the finished product — and it’s incredibly impressive,” noted Ramsey.
Though the lofts are primarily housing a young population, Ramsey hopes that older generations appreciate the project as well.
“I would imagine that folks who used to work at the mill are excited to see what’s been done to the place where they raised their families,” shared Ramsey. “My mom worked at a textile mill, and that’s where we spent our time and made our friends. It was our way of life, so seeing it preserved is awesome.”
And aside from the legacy of the mill, the job has a legacy of its own; it’s led to two future jobs for TBA with the same owner and contractor, bringing their total to 16 mill restorations.
“It’s a special niche we’ve carved out, and CES has been a great trade partner throughout,” said Bruce.
