Gund transformation offers opportunity for loft living

By Geri Parlin
La Crosse Tribune, September 16, 2007

When Emily Hiatt and her 1-year-old son Rex want to watch cartoons, they go in style and visit the movie theater two floors down at the Gund Brewery Lofts. Exercise is even more convenient. The gym is just down the hall.

Want to send a fax or use a computer? They’ve got that, too, in the business center.

But the best part of living in the newly opened Gund Brewery Lofts is the convenience, Hiatt said. Because she works at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, she’s just a two-minute bike ride away from work and Rex’s day care, which also is at Gundersen. She loads Rex into the bike stroller, drops him off at day care, and often picks him up at lunchtime so they can dine together at home.

That’s quite a switch for Hiatt, who had been commuting from Winona, Minn., until they made the move in July. With rising gas costs, this is not only more convenient, it’s a big money saver, Hiatt said.

But this is about more than convenience.

Hiatt enjoys the 20-foot ceilings, living in a restored historic building and the sense of community she feels living in the lofts.

One night when she and Rex arrived home late, she felt a bit uneasy going into the building so she called over to Gundersen Lutheran security and someone came over and walked her into the building.

“It really is a family,” she said.

Hiatt lives in a two-bedroom unit and has given over the largest bedroom to Rex so he has room to play. And because there are at least three windows in every room of her loft, they are bathed in natural light during the daytime.

The living room-kitchen area is one big great room that Hiatt’s dad helped make more functional by building a kitchen island. That way, Rex has a place to throw food other than on the carpet in the living room, Hiatt said.

“I think it’s just perfect,” she said.

With a small, active child, it’s great living all on one level, Hiatt said, because she doesn’t have to worry about Rex taking a tumble down stairs.

Geri Parlin can be reached at gparlin@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8225.

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