As we hung up the phone, Taylor Atchison was walking into a Mobile Planning Commission meeting where he serves as one of its commissioners. At stake is the future of the Mobile Civic Center. Taylor was invited to be on this commission by Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, who based his choice on Taylor’s experience in redeveloping several successful projects in Mobile’s historic areas.
Taylor is a Mobile local and his vision, energy, and drive allow him to excel at what he does. Restoration is in his DNA. His parents, Tony and Sylvia Atchison, renovated the old Walker Warehouse, one of the last remaining 1900-era Mobile brick warehouses years ago, and opened Atchison Home, a well-known retail furnishings and design center on Dauphin Street. The family lived in a stunning home within a third of the warehouse, sharing space with the retail store. It was a short commute.
Tony and Sylvia built and ran their business for decades before selling it to Jack McCown. The Atchisons kept the building and Taylor just completed a total renovation of the top three floors into 18 units called Atchison Lofts which are accessed off Conti Street. Atchison Home now occupies the entire ground floor with the entrance remaining on Dauphin Street.
Tony and Sylvia have passed their discerning eye for older properties and creative design talents to Taylor. Back in the day, Tony leased property for his fledgling antique business from his father. He also inherited a dilapidated building on Dauphin and Cedar Street, waiting ten years for the right thing to come along. He bought the old Smith’s Bakery on Dauphin Street, renovated it, and it’s now the location of Red or White Wine in Mobile.
Tony credits Wendell Quimby for paving the way for most of downtown Mobile’s historic renovation. Wendell bought and rehabbed the properties that Wintzell’s Oyster House, Moe’s Original BBQ, Callahan’s Irish Social Club, and The Garage now occupy. Sylvia is an extremely talented and sought-after interior designer who helped build Atchison Home into what it is today and continues working her magic as their top designer.
When Taylor graduated from Alabama in 2008, he returned home just as the recession was in full swing. Seeking to get into real estate development, he found the market closed for business. Following advice from a mentor, he accepted a position at Pilot Catastrophe Services as a claims adjuster. He hoped it would help him learn real estate development. It was steady, tough work, where he often worked from 7 am to 7 pm. After two years, he left to work at the family furniture store.
With help from his parents, Taylor purchased a small home on the edge of the Oakleigh Garden District that needed significant renovation. He described it as “an eyesore.” There, he got his start envisioning open floor plans, modernizing the inside, and creating an appealing place to live near Mobile’s downtown entertainment district. He and his parents did all the work themselves. He soon found other properties that needed reimagined floor plans and flipped 6 or 7 houses “one at a time.”
As this was happening, Taylor read that Pace Burt, from South Carolina was doing something with the multi-story building at 951 Government Street and reached out to meet him and to see what he was up to. Pace agreed to meet him at Callahan’s, and they hit it off. Three weeks later, Pace asked him to be his project manager in what became Marine Street Lofts, a 48-unit apartment building with commercial space on the ground floor.
This was a lot of responsibility and Pace gave Taylor a long leash to plan, design, manage the construction and rent the finished lofts. Pace likes to do everything in-house, so Taylor left the furniture business to devote full time to the project. He didn’t want to “muddy” the waters of his parent's exit strategy for Atchison Home. Marine Street Lofts was a success and includes a co-working space on the ground floor that Taylor created and named The Container Yard.
Working with Pace, Taylor learned a lot about the historic tax credit process for redevelopment. They soon approached the Mobile County Public School Board about purchasing two boarded-up schools, Old Shell Road in midtown and the Russell School on Broad Street to convert into more loft apartments. Taylor was given more and more responsibility to make these deals happen, including having the properties properly zoned before closing.
He had to get approval from the architectural review board to qualify for the historic tax credits. While this can be a frustrating process, to say the least, Taylor enjoyed it. He considered every aspect to be a part of his new education. Both projects were completed and Old Shell Lofts and Broad Street Lofts were both rented upon conclusion.
The next project was the abandoned property owned by his Father on the corner of Dauphin and Cedar. This would be his first commercial project and Chuck’s Fish, a Gulf to Table restaurant, was interested. Adding to his education, Taylor was now working with a tenant-led renovation and Mobile County Health Department requirements. This turned out to be a successful tenant-landlord relationship that lives on today and Taylor gained even more experience.
Taylor, Tony, and another partner, Bestor Ward, purchased the old Red Cross building at Dauphin and Broad Streets. Using his knowledge of the historic tax credits, this building, which had been sitting vacant for years, was renovated into loft apartments as well as Crown Hall event space by Bay Gourmet and their restaurant, The Crooked Crown. The Container Yard was relocated here to increase its co-working space from 2,000 SF to 7,500 SF. Around the same time Taylor added more newly constructed lofts at the Old Shell Road School property.
Taylor and Tony then purchased the old Crystal Ice Manufacturing buildings on Monroe Street near Broad, now the Ice Box Bar. This was Taylor’s first experience with an industrial property. They didn’t originally have a plan for a bar but liked the building. Taylor liked the idea of a local watering hole and connected with Stoney Boatman to run the Ice Box. They are currently doubling the size by renovating the freezer area, which has a 22’ ceiling, into an event space. There is a garage building across the street that was part of the original Crystal Ice Manufacturing property. Taylor plans to do an update on the building and see “what emerges.”
After all these projects were completed, Taylor went straight to converting Atchison Lofts. It was a two-year process during the height of the pandemic, with supply chain issues as well as subcontractor challenges. Taking a hundred-year-old structure and making it compliant with modern building codes and historic tax credits was not for the faint of heart!
What’s next? Taylor says, “The rewarding part of my education so far has been taking properties that have been a blight on the communities and giving them a new life, creating real value within the neighborhoods.” He likes the uniqueness of working with old, forgotten properties. “I enjoy getting things permitted and seeing the way forward.”
As far as new property developments are concerned, he believes we need walkable communities. “There are too many segmented developments being built where you have to get in your car to access goods and services. We need more thought into future development. The future is in better planning, more mixed-use communities that have what you need most right there.”
With people like Taylor, the future is indeed bright!