Loom City Lofts

Project History

In 1906, the wool producing Minterburn Mill, was one of the first structures in New England constructed entirely with reinforced concrete technology. The building was purchased in 1968 by sweater manufacturer Roosevelt Mills. The company, with sales offices in New York City, became an industry leader and innovator and at its peak, sold 12,000 sweaters a week to major retail chains like J.C. Penny and Montgomery Ward. The business and building were sold to new owners in 1986 and closed just two years later. The nearly 100-year-old building which is on the National Register of Historic Places remained vacant until its purchase in 2002.
New owners laid plans to convert it into an industrial-themed apartment building. The scope of work approved for the building and smokestack by architect James K. Grant Associates and carried out by Armani Restoration, included a three step process using a system of repair and protection products from Conproco, formulated specifically for the intended application method and desired outcome. The goal was to first arrest rebar corrosion with ECB, a single component, zinc-rich acrylic primer. Second, repair severe concrete deterioration inside and out with both Gunshot LPS, a spray or trowel-on mortar and Forment®, a high-flow pumped or poured repair mortar. And finally, apply Conpro Lastic, a durable, breathable, opaque and aesthetically pleasing, flexible, waterproof, anti-carbonation coating to provide additional protection.
The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation presented Loom City Lofts with an Award of Merit for its efforts in historic preservation in April 2016.